Courtesy: Bleacher Report
WASHINGTON — It’s rivalry night in the NHL as the Washington Capitals are set to take on the New York Rangers in a game that will be nationally televised on the NBC Sports Network.
Both team come in to this game with lackluster records to say the least as the Capitals come in with a 2-4-0 mark; the Rangers are 1-4-0 in 2013-14. Washington is coming off of a solid 4-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers and are looking to stockpile wins in their final two games of the home stand against New York and the Columbus Blue Jackets Saturday night.
One of the most noticeable statlines for both teams is the one for Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist. He finds himself 1-3-0 with a 4.21 GAA and is only stopping .887% of the shots he faces. These uncharacteristic numbers may be the reasons as to why the Rangers find themselves with their current record, or maybe, it’s because it’s been the Derek Stepan and Brad Richards shows and that’s it.
Looking at the Capitals, it seems as if this is a game where they can dictate the pace offensively and take advantage of some serious opportunities on the power play. Michael Del Zotto and Dan Girardi have a combined +/- rating of -13 for the Rangers and they seem to be a shadow of who they used to be. Expect Adam Oates to look at this team and play aggressively, using two forecheckers each time a 50-50 puck goes into the Rangers zone. Also, Washington was able to deviate from relying solely on Ovechkin and the top line in their last contest as they were able to space minutes out across all four lines and three defensive pairings. Being somewhat more fresh than expected after just playing a game Monday night is a sneaky advantage Washington could have in this game.
In the past, New York has been able to dominate Washington physically, prohibiting them from entering the slot and peppering Lundqvist from the blue line to the crease and alongside the boards. The Rangers are a big team that relies on their brawn more than finesse, unlike the Capitals.
Last year, brawn proved to win out over finesse as the Rangers defeated the Capitals in the first round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs, stealing Game 7 in dominating fashion at Verizon Center 5-0. You have to figure this defeat is resonating on the Washington bench and expect a physical, aggressive hockey game tonight.
