#CapsRangers Skate Shavings: You Again

The Caps and Rangers meet for the first time this season on Friday night at Capital One Arena. Both teams are coming in hot - both have won four of five, six of seven, and seven of 10. Since the start of November, the Capitals are 12-5-0 while the Rangers are 11-3-0.

"They're a good team and we've had our battles with them in the past," says Caps defenseman Matt Niskanen. "I think everyone is looking forward to keeping up our quality of play, and if we do, we have a real good shot at beating them."

Division Game -Friday's game between the Caps and the Rangers is also an important Metropolitan Division tilt. This morning's NHL standings show the New Jersey Devils sitting atop the Metropolitan Division standings, with four teams - including the Capitals - clustered just one point behind them. The Rangers are in sixth place, a mere four points from the top and three points south of the cluster.

Even seventh-place Philadelphia and last place Carolina are within reasonable shouting distance of the pack, as a total of only eight points separates the eight teams in the Metropolitan Division.

"There are a lot of good teams," says Caps coach Barry Trotz, "and some good teams aren't going to make it. I think you want to control what you can control. They're all four-point games. When you play head-to-head, there is a big swing in point totals. So they're four-pointers if you want to look at them that way."

The unusual tightness of the standings lends even more importance than usual to these divisional skirmishes in the Metropolitan Division this season. Getting two points will always be important, but ideally, you get the two points in regulation so your opponent isn't able to procure one of the NHL's magic loser points.

"You try to, but you don't have control over that all of the time," says Trotz. "You try to close out a team, and when you play against a team you want to get the two points, and you want to get some separation.

"The team that can be consistent - for the most part all year - is going to be the team that is going to get into the playoffs. If you can avoid long losing streaks, put a couple of smaller [winning] streaks together and you're pretty consistent, you should be able to squeeze in."

Burky's Back -Capitals winger Andre Burakovsky is back in action tonight after a 20-game absence. Burakovsky suffered a broken thumb in an Oct. 21 game against the Florida Panthers, and after subsequent surgery, he has been sidelined since.

Burakovsky's return leaves only T.J. Oshie on Washington's list of the ailing. Oshie will miss his second straight game tonight after suffering an upper body injury on Monday against San Jose.

Tonight marks the Caps' 30th game of the 2017-18 season, and Washington has had all of its players available to play for roughly 20 minutes of that stretch. The Caps are hopeful they can get Oshie back soon so they can see what they've got when everyone is healthy and available to play.

"If we can get everybody healthy and get everybody in there," says Trotz, "I like the balance of our lines. I think everybody is capable of being able to produce and being able to play both ends of the ice. Hopefully, we can get to that point. We haven't gotten there yet."

Magic Month - This is Trotz's fourth season behind the Washington bench, and once again, the Caps are heating up in December as they've done in each of the previous three seasons.

Including their 3-0-0 start to this December, the Capitals have earned at least a point in 37 of the 45 games (30-8-7) they've played under Trotz in the year's final month.

In The Nets -Two nights after earning his 15th win of the season with a 37-save performance in a 6-2 win over Chicago, Braden Holtby is back in the nets for Washington tonight. Holtby is 11-3-0 in his last 14 starts, with a 2.47 GAA and a .924 save pct. over that span.

Holtby will be working within his sweet spot of a single day's rest between starts. Lifetime with one day's rest, he is 90-20-10 with 14 shutouts, a 2.09 GAA and a .928 save pct. This season with one day's rest, Holtby is 8-2-0 with a 2.56 GAA and a .922 save pct.

During the course of his career, Holtby is 8-9-1 against the Rangers in the regular season, with a shutout, a 2.47 GAA and a .918 save pct.

Henrik Lundqvist will oppose Holtby in the New York nets, and Lundqvist is coming in hot. In his last six starts, he is 5-0-0 with a shutout, a 1.68 GAA and a .945 save pct. Lundqvist has permitted two or fewer tallies in seven of his last 10 appearances, and he is 7-2-0 with a shutout, a 2.09 GAA and a .937 save pct. during that stretch.

Lifetime against the Capitals in the regular season, Lundqvist is 21-11-4 with four shutouts in 36 appearances. He has a 2.61 GAA and a .909 save pct. in those 36 outings against Washington.

All Lined Up -Here's how we expect the Caps and the Rangers to look when they lineup on Friday night at Capital One Arena for the first of their four meetings this season:

WASHINGTONForwards

8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 43-Wilson

13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 39-Chiasson

65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly

18-Stephenson, 83-Beagle, 25-Smith-Pelly

Defensemen

9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen

44-Orpik, 74-Carlson

29-Djoos, 22-Bowey

Goaltenders

70-Holtby

31-Grubauer

Scratches

4-Chorney

Injured

77-Oshie (upper body)

NEW YORKForwards

20-Kreider, 51-Desharnias, 89-Buchnevich

26-Vesey, 13-Hayes, 61-Nash

40-Grabner, 10-Miller, 36-Zuccarello

28-Carey, 24-Nieves, 17-Fast

Defensemen

27-McDonagh, 55-Holden

76-Skjei, 22-Shattenkirk

18-Staal, 42-Smith

Goaltenders

30-Lundqvist

31-Pavelec

Scratches

47-Kampner

Injuries

93-Zibanejad (concussion)