5 Reasons to watch Rangers-Capitals

The Washington Capitals will go for a home-and-home sweep when they play the New York Rangers at Capital One Arena in the Wednesday Night Rivalry game (8 p.m. ET; NBCSN, NHL.TV).
The Capitals' 4-2 win at Madison Square Garden on Monday moved them two points closer to their third straight Metropolitan Division championship under coach Barry Trotz. The Rangers were assured of missing the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010 when the New Jersey Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3 on Tuesday. However, New York is 6-5-2 since the NHL Trade Deadline despite trading away several veteran players and has received a spark from an infusion of young players.

Here are 5 reasons to tune in:

Alex Ovechkin

Ovechkin has regained his mantle as the top goal-scorer in the NHL this season. He leads the League with 45 after finishing with 33 last season. No. 45 came Monday on Ovechkin's trademark, a one-time blast from the left circle during a power play. It was the 101st game-winning goal of his NHL career, tying him with Jarome Iginla for seventh all-time. It was also his 30th goal in 51 regular-season games against the Rangers; he has scored at least 30 goals against 10 teams, the most by any active NHL player.

John Carlson

Talk about having a big season at the right time. The 28-year-old Washington defenseman, who can become an unrestricted free agent July 1, already has NHL career highs in goals (15), assists (49) and points (64, most in the League by a defenseman). He's also averaging 24:52 of ice time, another career best. Carlson's big season is a big reason the Capitals are on the verge of another division championship despite losing key defensemen Karl Alzner and Kevin Shattenkirk (free agency), and Nate Schmidt (NHL Expansion Draft), during the offseason.

Henrik Lundqvist's return

Lundqvist will start for the Rangers after sitting out three games following a collision during a 5-3 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets on March 20 that left him with neck and back soreness. "Today was a really good skate, and I look forward to playing tomorrow," he said after practice Tuesday. It's been an up-and-down season for Lundqvist, who's 25-24-6 with a 2.94 goals-against average, his highest in the NHL, and .915 save percentage. He's eager to end a disappointing season on a positive note.

Braden Holtby

Washington's starting goaltender is also returning after missing two games with a lower-body injury and backing up Philipp Grubauer in the win Monday. Holtby is 31-15-4 with six games left, which means he'll end up with fewer than 40 wins for the first time since 2013-14, and his 3.03 GAA is nearly a full goal per game higher than last season (2.07). He's struggled since the All-Star break and is 3-5-2 in his past 10 decisions. Grubauer sustained what Trotz called a little tweak Monday, giving Holtby a chance to reclaim the top spot in Washington's goaltending tandem with the playoffs set to start in two weeks.

Rangers look to future

New York brought up its two first-round picks from the 2017 NHL Draft, forwards Lias Andersson (No. 7) and Filip Chytil (No. 21), for the final two weeks of the season. Andersson, making his NHL debut, scored a goal in the loss to Washington. Chytil, who played the first two games of the season before being sent to Hartford of the American Hockey League, had an assist for his first NHL point. The two figure to get plenty of opportunities to show they're ready for full-time roles with the Rangers next season.