The Capitals host the New York Rangers tonight at Capital One Arena for their final game before the NHL’s holiday break. Tonight’s contest marks the second of four games between the Capitals and Rangers this season. Washington defeated New York 1-0 on Oct. 12 at Madison Square Garden behind a 35-save shutout by Charlie Lindgren. The Capitals have won four straight versus the Rangers and are 8-4-0 in their last 12 games against New York, dating to the start of the 2022-23 season.
Rosters for the Olympic Winter Games Milano Cortina 2026 will be submitted on Dec. 31, with announcements to follow. Martin Fehérváry, who was one of six players named to Slovakia’s preliminary Olympics roster in June, leads his countrymen in plus-minus rating (+12) and blocked shots (65) this season. Along with Fehérváry, the Capitals have several players vying to make their national teams for the first Olympics with NHL participation since 2014.
Chychrun (14g-14a–28p in 36 GP) leads Washington in ice time per game (23:16) and ranks tied for first among NHL defensemen in goals and game-winning goals (3), second in shots (125), fifth in plus-minus rating (+22) and tied for seventh in points. The Capitals have outscored the opposition 40-17 at 5v5 this season when Chychrun is on the ice. Chychrun’s 70.2 goals for percentage is the third highest among NHL blueliners, trailing only Tampa Bay’s J.J. Moser (73.8%) and Colorado’s Cale Makar (72.7%) (min. 300 TOI at 5v5, per Natural Stat Trick).
John Carlson, a member of the 2014 U.S. Men's Olympic Team, is seeking to play in his second Olympics. Carlson (7g-21a–28p in 32 GP) leads the Capitals in assists this season and ranks tied for seventh among NHL defensemen in points. Carlson, 35, is the only defenseman over the age of 30 to rank in the top 10 in defenseman scoring.
Tom Wilson, Logan Thompson and Jakob Chychrun are all strong candidates to make Team Canada. Wilson (17g-17a–34p in 36 GP) leads the Capitals in goals, points, power-play goals (6) and hits (97) this season. Wilson is one of three Canadian-born forwards averaging at least 2:30 of power play ice time and 2:00 of shorthanded ice time this season. The 6’4”, 225-pound forward is also the only Canadian with 15-plus goals and 90-plus hits.
Among all goaltenders with 10 or more games played this season, regardless of nationality, Logan Thompson ranks first in the NHL in goals-against average (2.09) and save percentage (.924). Over his last 10 starts, Thompson has a 6-2-2 record with a 1.87 goals-against average and a .939 save percentage.
Rasmus Sandin, a native of Uppsala, Sweden, ranks fourth among Swedish defensemen in hits (45) and tied for fourth in plus-minus rating (+5). Sandin (2g-8a–10p in 31 GP) is averaging 19:05 of ice time for Washington, which ranks fourth among Capitals blueliners behind Chychrun (23:16), Carlson (22:40) and Matt Roy (20:39).
