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Henrik Lundqvist sees Capitals as a mirror image of the Rangers

Ottawa Senators v New York Rangers - Game Seven

NEW YORK, NY - APRIL 26: Henrik Lundqvist #30 of the New York Rangers celebrates their 2 to 1 win over the Ottawa Senators in Game Seven of the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals during the 2012 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Madison Square Garden on April 26, 2012 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)

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After finishing off the Ottawa Senators in Game 7, New York Rangers superstar goalie Henrik Lundqvist said their second round opponents, the Washington Capitals, remind him a lot of his own team.

“They’re a little bit like this team,” Lundqvist said. “Their top guys are really talented. They make some big plays out of nothing. We have to be ready.”

As for how to prepare for a more defensive Caps team, Lundqvist says the routine doesn’t change much for him. The Caps, like the Rangers, block shots rather than pump them in on goal, but that matters not for the Vezina finalist.

“I don’t know, honestly, how much is going to change game-wise. For me personally it doesn’t really change. I’m gonna get coached the same way, I’m gonna play my game the same way.”

Lundqvist is no stranger to seeing the Washington Capitals in the playoffs. Two times he’s faced Washington in the postseason in 2009 and 2011 and came away the loser in the series, going down in seven games in 2009 and in five games last season. That’s not something that’s going to bother him, however.

“The past is the past. I don’t think about all that. It’s different teams,” Lundqvist says. “We’re in a different place, they’re in a different place. Going into that, we’re going to approach it the same way of course. We’re not going to over-think it or do too much.”

Over-thinking things could be the Rangers’ undoing if they get frustrated by the Caps’ defensive ways. Lundqvist will have to play the foil for Washington if New York is to keep Cinderella from dancing right along.