Former Washington Capitals coach Peter Laviolette is back to face his old team in the first round of the Stanley Cup playoffs as the head coach of the New York Rangers.
Laviolette was fired by the Capitals after three seasons, and this is only the eighth time in Stanley Cup playoff history that a head coach has faced the team that dismissed him in the previous season.
The Rangers have a 1-0 lead in their first-round series against Washington, with Game 2 Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
“On the positive side, it was great to be part of a great organization, great city and a fan base that loves their team and is passionate about their year,” Laviolette said of his time in Washington.
“From a disappointment standpoint, it was not being able to make any noise in the playoffs despite having the opportunities.”
It would be a certain irony to the Rangers beating the Capitals in the first round, as that’s when Laviolette’s two postseasons in Washington ended in 2021 and 2022.
The Capitals missed the playoffs last season — only the second time in 16 years that didn’t see the postseason — which led to what GM Brian MacLellan described as a mutual parting of ways between the team and Laviolette after three unremarkable seasons.
Washington’s loss was the Rangers’ gain. When New York fired coach Gerard Gallant after two seasons, it turned to Laviolette with a three-year commitment.
The results have been historically good for the Blueshirts, who won the Presidents’ Trophy for having the league’s best record and had the third-best points percentage (.695) in franchise history.
That record earned the Rangers a first-round series against Washington, the second wild-card team in the Eastern Conference.
And it earned Laviolette a reunion with some familiar faces one year after the Capitals let him go.
The Capitals are led by Alex Ovechkin, who is one of the greatest players in NHL history. Ovechkin has won the Hart Trophy three times and the Art Ross Trophy nine times.
The Rangers are led by Igor Shesterkin, who is one of the best young goaltenders in the NHL. Shesterkin won the Vezina Trophy last season and is a finalist for the award again this season.
The series is expected to be a close one. The Capitals have a lot of experience, but the Rangers have a lot of talent.
Game 2 of the series is Tuesday night at Madison Square Garden.
Other coaches facing their former teams one year later are:
* Mike Yeo of the Minnesota Wild, playing the St. Louis Blues in 2017
* Darryl Sutter of the Calgary Flames, facing the Los Angeles Kings in 2004
* Fred Shero of the Philadelphia Flyers, playing the New York Rangers in 1979
* Tommy Gorman of the Boston Bruins, facing the Montreal Maroons in 1935
* Dick Irvin of the Chicago Blackhawks, playing the Toronto Maple Leafs in 1932
The combined record of these coaches in “revenge” series: 6-1, with DeBoer’s loss to the Golden Knights last season the only blemish.
