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Capitals vs. Rangers: Big Game In The Big Apple

By CJ Witt

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals argues with the referee as Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers let go of his goalie stick during the shoot-out at Madison Square Garden on March 03, 2019 in New York City. The Capitals were awarded a goal on the play and defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images)
NEW YORK, NEW YORK - MARCH 03: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals argues with the referee as Alexandar Georgiev #40 of the New York Rangers let go of his goalie stick during the shoot-out at Madison Square Garden on March 03, 2019 in New York City. The Capitals were awarded a goal on the play and defeated the Rangers 3-2. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /
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It was a disappointing night last night vs the Philadelphia Flyers.

In a game where the Washington Capitals could give themselves a good five point lead on second place in the division they instead fell in regulation at home. That means they now have a one point lead on the Flyers, The Caps with 86 points, Philly with 85.

While Washington is fighting off challengers from Pennsylvania for the last month or so, the New York Rangers are trying to make a run to the playoffs. The blueshirts seemed to be a rebuilding team that didn’t have much hope for most of this season. But a recent surge has put them right back into contention.

You have one team fighting for first place. Then you have one team trying to claw their way back into the playoffs. If that’s not a recipe for a big game for both teams then what is? Here is a couple of things to watch for in this one.

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The Rangers Blowing Their Opportunity?

After being a fairly average, non playoff team for most of this season the Rangers have inched their way closer to a playoff spot. That is in thanks to a 12-3-0 run from the end of January to the end of February.

During that stretch they racked up 24 points, which was the best in the NHL in that time. They were scoring 3.53 goals a game, and were giving up just 2.27 goals against per game. Their power play was clicking at 28.9% and they were killing 84.2% of the penalties they took. They were also averaging 34 shots a game while giving up 34 shots a game too.

They have now lost three games in a row and in doing so they’re giving up 4.33 goals a game and scoring just 2 goals a game. They average just 26.7 shots a game and now give up 29.3 shots.

To be fair here, it’s not like they have lost to the Red Wings twice then followed that up with a bad effort vs Ottawa or New Jersey. Two of those losses came against a hot Flyers team, one game at home, one on the road, then they had to follow that up by playing the defending Stanley Cup champion St. Louis Blues. Difficult games for anyone, let alone a young team trying to get back into things.

The Rangers though have put themselves in a position that requires wins and points. They have lost three in a row and it won’t get any easier when the Capitals come to town Thursday night. They’ve gotten themselves close, can they get back on the right track against Washington?

A Good Night To Get The Power Play Going?

The Capitals power play has not been very good for about three months now, a big chunk of this season. But vs the Rangers maybe they can get that back on track, at least for one night. In the last three games New York’s penalty kill has allowed five power play goals on nine attempts. That’s an awful 44.4% penalty kill the last three games.

As we told you just a minute ago, they were killing at a good rate during the hot streak killing 84% of the penalties taken. For the season this is an average PK at best, having the 20th ranked PK at 78.1%.

The Capitals power play still have all the weapons it needs to be deadly despite its poor play for large portions of the season. The Capitals power play is 16% since early December. Maybe an iffy penalty kill will help the Capitals in this game.

Breadman Earning The Dough

In case you didn’t know, Artemi Panarin is a pretty good hockey player. It was nice for Capitals fans to get him off a division rival this past summer. The problem was he left that division rival, the Blue Jackets,  to go to another one in the Rangers.

Panarin is destined to do something that hasn’t been done in New York is nearly fifteen years. That’s crack the 100 point mark as a Ranger. The last time a Ranger hit the 100 point mark was the 2005-06 season when Jaromir Jagr scored 123 points.

Panarin won’t hit that mark in this game, but he does have 90 points already. He’s also coming off a 13 game point streak that was just broken in the Rangers last game vs the Blues.

He’s having a heck of a season up in New York. He’s someone you have to watch for every game. Shut him down and you have a much better chance at victory. Just doing so is easier said than done.

Can Samsonov Get Back On Track?

Samsonov had a terrific start to the season and his NHL career. It was such a good start some were calling for Samsonov to be nominated for the Calder trophy as the NHL’s top rookie. He’s possibly hit a bit of a wall lately however.

In his last 6 games he has a 3.68 goals against average and a .880 save percentage. Before then he was posting great stats, he had a 2.06 GAA and .927 save percentage in 19 games. He’ll have an opportunity to get things going again in Madison Square Garden Thursday night.

It’s unclear who will go for the Rangers as I write this. The Capitals may have dodged a dagger in not having to face Igor Shesterkin though. The young Rangers netminder was having a great season having a 2.23 GAA and a .940 save percentage this season. He has also won seven games in a row.

Instead the Capitals will face either Alexander Georgiev or an old friend Henrik Lundqvist. Georgiev is 16-14-1 with a 2.98 GAA and .912 save percentage. He’s 0-2-1 against the Caps in his career with a 4.06 GAA and .875 save percentage.

Lundqvist is 10-12-3 this season with a 3.19 GAA and .904 save percentage. His career vs the Capitals looks like a 22-13-7 record with a 2.76 GAA and a .907 save percentage. Who would you rather see Caps fans?

Recent Top Scorers

In the last five games only two Rangers have more than a point per game. Panarin is one of those two with 7 points, just one goal. The other is Mika Zibanejad with 5 goals his last five games and 6 points.

Someone to watch for is Tony DeAngelo. The 24-year-old defenseman is setting career highs with every point scored. Last season he had 4 goals and 30 points in 61 games. He currently has 13 goals and 49 points in 64 games played. Ryan Strome is also having a season for the blueshirts with 18 goals and 59 points. His next goal will be a career high, he has already set a career best in points. His previous career best was 50 in 2014-15 when he was in New York with the Islanders.

light. Related Story. Capitals drop Wednesdday night contest to Flyers

The Capitals do not have anybody scoring over a point per game in the last five games. Alex Ovechkin and Carl Hagelin both have 4 points the last five games. Ovechkin has 3 goals, Hagelin has 2.

Date: Thursday March 5, 2020
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Madison Square Garden
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
Live Streaming: ESPN+ has a free 7-day trial that includes live streaming for this game on all your smart devices! Besides NHL games, ESPN+ features a selection of live games from MLB, MLS, Serie A, FA Cup, and EFL. Get in on the action with Live UFC Fight Nights, 30+ Top Rank Boxing cards, Grand Slam tennis from Wimbledon, US Open and Australian Open.

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