Capitals vs. Rangers: November 20, 2019
The Washington Capitals hit the road again to face the New York Rangers. This will be the first meeting between division rivals this season. Both teams are trying to stay in shape as the season goes on, but many obstacles lie ahead. The Caps have to think about their goaltending question, the Rangers have to think about scoring. As teams in the same division, they have to think about each other more for the rest of the season.
The Caps are 16-3-4 with 36 points, sitting atop the Metro Division and Eastern Conference. They have been mostly a road team, only losing one game in regulation on the road. Despite their dominance, they have a goalie issue to find an understudy for the aging Braden Holtby. Though Holtby looks to start tonight, a key injury to Niklas Backstrom will also hamper the team depth. The Rangers meanwhile are 8-8-2, with 18 points. Though well out of wildcard contention, they look to improve down the stretch. With Artemi Panarin and Chris Krieder still strong, they try to prove they can be a threat to the Caps. All will be put to the test tonight in New York.
Starting Lines for Washington:
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Vrana-Eller-Oshie
Leipsic-Boyd-Panik
Malenstyn-Stephenson-Sgarbossa
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Gudas
Siegenthaler-Jensen
Holtby between the pipes.
Starting Lines for New York:
Panarin-Strome-Fast
Kreider-Chytil-Buchnevich
Lemieux-Howden-Kakko
Gettinger-McKegg-Smith
Hajek-Trouba
Skjei-DeAngelo
Lindgren-Fox
Lundqvist will be the starting goalie.
Game is at Madison Square Garden: Puck Drops at 8 pm.