Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin led the NHL with 56 goals this season (Mike Carlson/Associated Press)

Priority No. 1 for the New York Rangers in their Eastern Conference quarter-final series with the Washington Capitals will be trying to stop Alex Ovechkin.

No doubt New York will do everything it can to contain and frustrate the Washington forward when the Rangers and hometown Capitals face off in Game 1 of their series Wednesday night.

That's easier said than done, though, as the Russian sniper won the Maurice (Rocket) Richard Trophy as the NHL's top scorer with 56 goals this season, and finished the campaign with 110 points, a mere three points behind Art Ross Trophy winner Evgeni Malkin.

In last year's playoffs, the Philadelphia Flyers faced the same daunting tasking in the first round, and although they managed to stop Ovechkin, they couldn't do it for the entire series, which they eventually won in seven games.

"Philly threw a lot at Ovechkin and really got the better of him early on … [but] by the end of the series, Ovechkin had it figured out: he was going coast-to-coast, back and forth and finding free space," said Hockey Night in Canada's Mike Milbury.

Fellow Hockey Night in Canada analyst P.J. Stock believes the key to stopping Ovechkin is to clamp down on him and get in his face.

"He has a lethal shot so if the Rangers are to be successful, they have to close in on Ovechkin. Whenever you give him space, he's going to let go the best shot in the game," Stock said.

The task of stopping Ovechkin will likely be assigned to Rangers defenceman Mark Staal, a physical player who has had his run-ins with the Capitals forward in the past.

'Drove him to distraction'

Another player who could be employed to stop Ovechkin is Sean Avery, who pestered Ilya Kovalchuk in the first round of the 2006-07 playoffs when the Rangers swept the Atlanta Thrashers.

Cognizant of how Avery kept Kovalchuk in his back pocket, Rangers coach John Tortorella could have him cover Ovechkin in this series.

"The last time Avery met a high-scoring Russian in the first round, he drove him to distraction and the Thrashers went out in four," said Jeff Marek, host of Hockey Night in Canada Radio.

Of course, Ovechkin is not the only offensive threat for the Capitals, and the Rangers would be well advised not to focus all of their attention on the Russian star.

Sophomore centre Nicklas Backstrom ranked second in scoring for the Capitals with 88 points, Alexander Semin scored an impressive 34 goals and Mike Green led all NHL defencemen in goals (31).

Washington was the second-highest-scoring team in the NHL in the regular season, finding the back of the net 268 times during regulation and overtime, compared with the Rangers' 200 goals.

The Rangers don't have a player like Ovechkin who can break a game wide open, and that could be their downfall.

"That hasn't been there this season and for the better part of the season the New York Rangers struggled mightily to scores goals," said Scott Morrison of Hockey Night in Canada.