Rangers at Capitals preview

RANGERS (33-35-8) at CAPITALS (45-24-7)
8 p.m. ET; NBCSN NHL.TV

The Capitals need to defeat the Rangers and have the Philadelphia Flyers lose to the Colorado Avalanche in any fashion or get one point against New York and have the Flyers lose in regulation.
Washington has won four games in a row and is in first place in the Metropolitan Division with 97 points, five more than the second-place Pittsburgh Penguins.
The Rangers were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday when the New Jersey Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes 4-3. New York is 1-3-1 in its past five games, including a 4-2 loss to the Capitals on Monday at Madison Square Garden.

Players to watch

Rangers goalie Henrik Lundqvist returns after missing three games with back and neck injuries. It is the first time in his 13-year NHL career he will play a game when New York has already been eliminated from playoff contention.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin has 11 points (five goals, six assists) in his past eight games. He leads the NHL in goals (45), two ahead of Winnipeg Jets' forward Patrik Laine.

They said it

"It's like any player. Once the nervousness is out a little bit you can go out and focus on your game. … If they've got the work ethic, if they've got the right attitude and the right commitment in theory you're working on helping them become the best player that they can be." -- Rangers coach Alain Vigneault on teenage centers Lias Andersson and Filip Chytil
"Grubauer is actually pretty good. Just tweaked something in that last game and we're going to be ultra-cautious with him. … I know he's going to practice [Thursday] and then I expect him to be ready for Carolina [on Friday]. -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz on goalie Philip Grubauer, who will sit with a lower- body injury

Rangers projected lineup

Chris Kreider -- Mika Zibanejad -- Jesper Fast
Kevin Hayes --
Filip Chytil
-- Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey --
Lias Andersson
-- Ryan Spooner
Cody McLeod -- Vladislav Namestnikov -- Pavel Buchnevich
Marc Staal -- Neal Pionk
Brady Skjei -- Ryan Sproul
John Gilmour -- Rob O'Gara
Henrik Lundqvist
Ondrej Pavelec
Scratched:David Desharnais, Paul Carey, Peter Holland
Injured:Tony DeAngelo (ankle), Kevin Shattenkirk (knee surgery), Steven Kampfer (fractured hand)

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Andre Burakovsky -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Shane Gersich
-- Lars Eller -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Chandler Stephenson -- Jay Beagle -- Alex Chiasson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Brett Connolly, Jakub Vrana, Jakub Jerabek
Injured: Philipp Grubauer (lower body)

Status report

Gersich, a fifth-round pick (No. 134) in the 2014 NHL Draft whose college career at North Dakota ended last week, will make his NHL debut. … Andersson and Chytil became the first Rangers to play in the same game as teenagers since Dec. 19, 1974 (Dave Maloney, Ron Greschner) on Monday; Andersson scored a goal and Chytil had an assist.

Stat pack

Kuznetsov has four goals and seven assists during a five-game point streak. … Lundqvist is 21-12-4 with a 2.65 goals-against average and a .908 save percentage in 37 games against the Capitals.