The Rangers were expected to roll having won the Presidents' Trophy against an aging, ineffective Capitals team that saw its superstar, Alex Ovechkin, completely neutralized by New York.
Of the 19 teams to execute first-round sweeps, 10 lost in the second round, including the Rangers who lost in seven games after sweeping Atlanta in 2007.
Only six of those 19 teams ultimately advanced to the Stanley Cup Final, and just one team won it, the Colorado Avalanche in 2022, which was the last team to sweep a first-round series before the Rangers.
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