Capitals at Rangers
The Washington Capitals go after their eighth win in nine games Monday as they attempt to create more cushion atop of the Metropolitan Division when they visit the New York Rangers for the opener of a home-and-home series. The Capitals, who host the Rangers on Wednesday, lead second-place Pittsburgh by three points in the division after extending their winning streak to three games with Saturday's 6-4 triumph at Montreal.
“It was an important game for us and it doesn’t matter how you play, how many mistakes we (made),” Washington center Evgeny Kuznetsov told reporters after scoring twice in his return from a three-game absence due to a hand injury. “We got the two points. That’s the key for us.” The Capitals split their first two meetings this season with the Rangers, who are close to officially being eliminated from playoff contention despite going 3-2-2 over their last seven games. New York knocked off Buffalo 5-1 on Saturday behind two goals from Jimmy Vesey and 43 saves by rookie Alexandar Georgiev, who made his second straight start in place of injured veteran Henrik Lundqvist (back). Mika Zibanejad leads a group of red-hot forwards with a five-game goal-scoring streak during which he has netted seven of his team-leading 27 tallies.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (44-24-7): Captain Alex Ovechkin, who leads the league with 44 goals and tops the team with 81 points, has been kept off the scoresheet in two straight contests. Kuznetsov (73 points) has recorded three goals and six assists during his four-game point streak while Nicklas Backstrom helped set up four tallies Saturday, prompting coach Barry Trotz to tell reporters afterward, “He could have had six assists.” John Carlson led all NHL defensemen through Saturday’s action with 63 points after posting 10 in his last eight contests.
ABOUT THE RANGERS (33-34-8): Zibanejad also is riding a seven-game point streak during which he has scored eight times while Jesper Fast is in the midst of a career-best eight-game run (three goals, seven assists). Chris Kreider might be the team's hottest player of all with three goals and seven assists during a five-game streak, pushing his total to 36 points in 51 contests. Georgiev, a 22-year-old Russian who was signed as a free agent, is 4-3-1 with a 2.85 goals-against average and .926 save percentage in nine games (eight starts).
OVERTIME
1. New York C Kevin Hayes is one point away from his third season with at least 40 and has scored a career-high 21 goals.
2. Washington G Philipp Grubauer posted an .886 save percentage over the first two months of the season but has recorded a .937 mark since.
3. Rangers RW Mats Zuccarello leads the team with 50 points but has notched just two in his last five contests while posting a minus-4 rating in that span.