Capitals at Rangers
The Washington Capitals led the league in points in 2015-16 and are setting the pace once again this season, but they served notice that they have their eyes on a bigger prize. The Capitals made a huge move to acquire defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk from St. Louis on Monday night and expect him to be in the lineup for Tuesday's matchup at the New York Rangers.
"Couldn't be more excited," said Capitals forward T.J. Oshie, a teammate of Shattenkirk for five seasons with St. Louis. The reported price tag for Shattenkirk and goaltender Pheonix Copley was forwards Zach Sanford and Brad Malone, a first-round draft pick in 2017 and a conditional pick, although the deal kept the standout blue-liner away from New York, considered among his preferred destinations. The Rangers trail the Capitals by seven points and are one behind third-place Columbus in the division, but it won both meetings against Washington this season, including a 2-1 victory at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 19. Although New York is coming off a 5-2 home loss to the Blue Jackets, it takes a 9-2-1 record in February into Tuesday's clash.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, TVAS, SportsnetOne, Sportnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, CSN Mid-Atlantic-Plus (Washington), MSG (New York)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (41-13-7): Shattenkirk was second on the Blues with 42 points, the fourth-highest total in the league for a defenseman and just three shy of his career high established in 2013-14. Nearly half his season total has come on the man advantage -- Shattenkirk scored seven of his 11 goals on the power play and his 20 points with the extra skater rank 10th in the league. "We are excited to welcome Kevin to our organization," Capitals general manager Brian MacLellan said in a statement. "We felt it was important to acquire another defenseman to strengthen and add depth to our blue line. Kevin is a skilled, puck-moving defenseman who we think will help our team at even strength and on the power play."
ABOUT THE RANGERS (40-20-2): Shattenkirk would have filled a major need for New York, which has been stagnant on the power play, converting only 1 of 25 chances over the past 10 games. The Rangers have a potential injury concern in center Mika Zibanejad, who ended a 15-game drought with the deciding tally in overtime at New Jersey on Saturday but was struck on the arm by a shot late in Sunday's matchup. Rick Nash scored his 18th goal Sunday and has 13 tallies in 24 games versus Washington.
OVERTIME
1. Capitals D Matt Niskanen is expected to play Tuesday while D Brooks Orpik and Oshie remain day-to-day.
2. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist improved to 21-9-4 against Washington with his two victories this season.
3. Capitals F Alex Ovechkin has been held without a shot on net three times in seven games following a 315-game streak with at least one.