Rangers at Capitals
THE STORY: The New York Rangers will look to put a little distance between themselves and the Boston Bruins atop the Eastern Conference when they visit the struggling Washington Capitals on Tuesday. New York hit the road for its next three games, concluding Jan. 2nd at the Bridgestone Winter Classic in Philadelphia. The Rangers went 3-0 on their recent home stand. The Blueshirts are 11-5-2 on the road and 11-3-2 at home. The Capitals on the other hand, continue to struggle to find consistency. The Capitals are an underachieving 5-6-1 since Nov. 29th, when Dale Hunter replaced Bruce Boudreau as head coach. Washington lost four of its last six games, and currently sits 11th in the East.
TV: 7:30 p.m. ET, Versus, TSN2, RIS
ABOUT THE RANGERS (22-8-4): New York jumped to top spot in the East by downing the New York Islanders 3-0 Monday at Madison Square Garden. It was the Rangers' fifth straight win. Goaltender Henrik Lundqvist made 28 saves for his third shutout of the season while Carl Hagelin, playing in his 16th NHL game, scored twice. Red-hot Marian Gaborik scored his NHL leading 22nd goal. He has seven goals in his last five games, and 12 in his last 14. The Rangers won the first of four meetings 6-3 in Washington. Ruslan Fedotenko had two goals and captain Ryan Callahan added three assists.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (17-15-2): Washington fell 4-2 Monday to the home Buffalo Sabres. Goaltender Michal Neuvirth was pulled in the first period after giving up three goals on six shots. His struggles may open the door for Tomas Vokoun, who has not started a game since Dec. 13th. Vokoun is 12-8-0 on the season. The Capitals did get a goal from Alex Ovechkin on Monday, just his 12th in 34 games. Ovechkin has gone 23 consecutive games without recording a multi-point outing.
OVERTIME:
1. Marc Staal, who has missed the first 34 games this season due to a concussion, has been cleared for contact. Staal has been out of action since being hit by his brother, Eric, last season.
2. The Capitals eliminated the Rangers in the first round of the playoffs last year. It was the second time in three seasons the Caps bounced the Blueshirts in the opening round.