Rangers vs. Capitals matchups, prediction: Blueshirts should overpower Washington

Here lies the end of the Rangers’ most successful regular season in franchise history, which also marks the beginning of the most important playoff run in recent memory. 

The Capitals are the first team the Blueshirts will have to go through in their pursuit of capturing their first Stanley Cup in three decades.

And to say the Rangers are the favorite in this first-round series would be a colossal understatement. 

In a complete role reversal of the 2011 series between the clubs, when the No. 1-seeded Capitals beat the Rangers in five games after the Blueshirts squeezed into the postseason at the last minute, the outcome is expected to be much of the same with the teams under flip-flopped circumstances coming in. 

But no team is to be underestimated when Lord Stanley is on the line, so the Rangers will need to take care of business as quickly as possible. 

The Post’s Mollie Walker takes a look at how the teams match up: