Washington Capitals vs Rangers: Another collapse or Magic in MSG?

Can the Washington Capitals bounce back from their collapse against the Bruins with some magic at Madison Square Garden?

The Washington Capitals split their series with the Bruins with a one goal win and a Capitals loss following a three goal lead. One would think that these two would be two different stories when in reality they are the same story but with a different ending.

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In both contests against the Bruins, the Capitals would gain the lead early on only to watch it fall away with the Bruins coming back in both games. If not for Ovechkin’s 708th career goal in OT of the first game it very well could have led to a two game sweep. With this goal it leaves him ties with ex-Capital Mike Gartner.

For the second game the Capitals were not as successful as they would relinquish a 3 goal lead right before the second intermission and gave the momentum solely to the Bruins in the third period. Seems again the Capitals are struggling to play a full 60 minutes, even with the new bench boss. Perhaps it’s time for a shake up of the roster, beyond the move of dropping Vrana to the 4th line and Sheary to the 2nd line. This could be further evidence in the argument of the Capitals being more lucky than good this year, which would be hard to believe given they co-lead the East with 15 standings points.

The Washington Capitals will look to prove themselves more good than lucky against the New York Rangers in a rare single game contest in 2021. Which rookie will prove their worth better Vitek Vanecek of the Capitals or Alexis Lafreniere of the Rangers? From their early starts it shouldn’t be hard to guess with Vanecek being named the NHL Rookie of the month in January versus a first overall pick who just scored his first goal a week ago, also his only point on the season so far.

The Washington Capitals will most likely be leaning on their stellar defensemen to carry them while still missing their 2nd line center Evgeny Kuznetsov and starting goalie Ilya Samsonov. This along with their default starting goalie Vanecek, should help alleviate the lack of killer instinct seen so far this year. However, if there is a team to look for a better overall performance from the Capitals it should happen against the bottom dwelling New York Rangers. In a matchup of the oldest roster, Capitals with average age of 30.0, versus the youngest roster, Rangers with average age of 25.6, the Capitals will need to rely on experience more so in this contest to overcome the age gap. It would be smart of the Capitals to emphasize improving on their CF% as a team, 2nd worst at 45.9%.

Here is how to watch and find out:

Date: February 4, 2021
Time: 7 p.m. EST
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: Caps Radio 24/7
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