The Washington Capitals host the New York Rangers tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Verizon Center. The teams are only separated by three points in the standings (The Capitals are 5th with 62 points while the Rangers are in 7th with 59 points).
With the Tampa Bay Lightning winning last night and the game being televised nationally (to people who have quality cable at least), the Caps need to look no further than these two factors for motivation to take two points from tonight's game. Both teams have played well of late so it should be a great tilt. Here are the keys to tonight's game:
-Ovechkin: It seems cliche to have Ovi as one of the keys to tonight's game. However, considering the year he's having, one we are not accustomed to seeing, he needs to build off his hat trick from Saturday night's contest. If the Caps are going to go anywhere in the playoffs, Ovi is going to have to keep playing at this pace. I'm not saying he needs a hat trick every game, but he needs to be involved and producing.
-Goaltending: I'm expecting Henrik Lundqvist and Semyon Varlamov in the net, respectively. Both have good numbers, but Varly is starting to play to the potential that the Caps' front office keep telling us about. We know what to expect out of Lundqvist, he's a quality goaltender, but when Varly is on his game he is virtually unbeatable.
-Caps D vs. Gaborik: Marian Gaborik is the Rangers' most potent scorer. He can use power coming down the wing, or maneuver his way to the slot to bury the puck in the smallest opening between the goalie and the net just to rub salt in the wound. Washington's defense corps is far improved from last year and it will be interesting to see which pair is matched up against him.
It will be interesting to see how the game unfolds tonight. Will the pace be tentative or will the Capitals come at the Rangers with a fury after being torched by them in their last meeting? I like the Caps at home, 4-2 final.
No comments:
Post a Comment