Rangers at Capitals
After defeating their cross-town rivals, the New York Rangers can supplant them atop the Metropolitan Division with a victory over the host Washington Capitals on Wednesday. Rick Nash scored his team-leading 39th goal early in the third period as the Rangers skated to a 2-1 triumph over the New York Islanders on Monday. The Rangers improved to 14-2-3 in their last 19 games overall and moved within one point of the first-place Islanders.
Nash has fond memories of his last meeting with Washington, as he recorded a hat trick in New York's 4-2 win on Dec. 23. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin also tallied in that contest and has 33 points (18 goals, 15 assists) in 36 career encounters with the Rangers. The three-time Hart Trophy winner saw his goal-scoring streak extend to three games after netting his league-best 20th power-play tally in Washington's 6-1 rout of Buffalo on Saturday.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBCSN, TVA
ABOUT THE RANGERS (41-17-7): Signed to a four-year, $18 million contract extension earlier this month, Mats Zuccarello continues to pay dividends as he has set up five goals on his four-game assist streak. The 27-year-old had set up two tallies in his first meeting with the Capitals and will play in his 208th career game on Wednesday, breaking a tie with Espen Knutsen for the most by a Norwegian-born player in NHL history. Cam Talbot has been confirmed to get the nod versus Washington and owns an 11-2-3 mark with a pair of shutouts since Henrik Lundqvist has been sidelined with a vascular injury.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (36-21-10): Nicklas Backstrom has recorded five assists in his last four games and leads the league with 51. The 27-year-old Swede resides just 10 off last season's total and 17 shy of his career high (2009-10), but is questionable to face New York after being sent home from Tuesday's practice due to illness. Defenseman Mike Green collected two assists versus the Sabres after being held without a point in his previous seven contests, but is considered day-to-day with an upper-body injury.
OVERTIME
1. Washington G Braden Holtby yielded four goals on 27 shots in the first meeting to fall to 2-4-1 in his career versus New York.
2. The Rangers own a 2-0-1 mark on their five-game road trip despite scoring only four goals.
3. The Capitals are 5-for-8 on the power play in the last four contests after going 1-for-13 in the previous four.