Rangers Finish Road Trip With Battle in D.C. Against Capitals

Rangers (15-10-2, 32 pts) at Capitals (17-11-1, 35 pts)

7 pm, Capital One Arena

MSG Network; ESPN 98.7 FM

Washington, meanwhile, enters tonight's contest on a three-game winning streak, including a 6-2 victory Wednesday night over the Chicago Blackhawks.
The Nicklas Backstrom line with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson totaled four goals and 11 points in the win over Chicago. After what would be considered a down year for him with 33 goals in 82 games last season, Ovechkin already has 21 goals in 29 games thus far, and leads the Capitals with 32 points.
Braden Holtby is once again having a strong season with 15 wins in his first 21 starts to go along with a .921 SV% and a .260 GAA.

Players to Watch

Kevin Shattenkirk scored two goals and added 14 assists in 19 regular season games as a Capital before scoring six points in 13 postseason contests following a trade to the nation's capital from St. Louis. No. 22 has three assists in his last four games and has finished as a plus player in five straight.
Ovechkin enters tonight's game as hot as a player can be with eight goals in his last seven games, including a four-point performance Wednesday night against Chicago. For his career, Ovechkin has 29 goals in 48 games against the Rangers, though that's his second-fewest against any Metro team not named Columbus, who only entered the Eastern Conference for the 2013-14 season.

Say What?

"That team plays a lot like they have in the past, even though some of the personnel has changed a little bit. It's a real good team. They've got that real strong top line and great goaltending." - Alain Vigneault on the Washington Capitals

Rangers Projected Lineup

Chris Kreider - David Desharnais - Pavel Buchnevich
Jimmy Vesey - Kevin Hayes - Rick Nash
Michael Grabner - J.T. Miller - Mats Zuccarello
Paul Carey - Boo Nieves - Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh - Nick Holden
Brady Skjei - Kevin Shattenkirk
Marc Staal - Brendan Smith
Henrik Lundqvist
Injury: Mika Zibanejad (concussion, has missed three games)

Inside the Numbers

The Rangers have earned at least one point in 18 of their last 27 games against Washington, dating back to Dec. 12, 2010 (16-9-2 record). In addition, the Blueshirts have registered at least one point in nine of their last 14 contests against the Capitals, dating back to Jan. 19, 2014 (8-5-1 record)