Rangers at Capitals
The Washington Capitals attempt to clinch their second consecutive Presidents' Trophy and the third in franchise history when they host the Metropolitan Division-rival New York Rangers on Wednesday. Washington moved a step closer to securing home ice throughout the playoffs Tuesday, when it concluded a 4-1-0 road trip with a 4-1 triumph at Toronto.
The Capitals, who also finished first overall in the NHL in 2009-10, will cement the top spot by earning at least one point against the Rangers as they lead Pittsburgh by five points with three games remaining and own the tiebreaker. New York is firmly entrenched in the first wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference as it seeks its second straight victory following a three-game slide (0-1-2). The Rangers have earned points in five of their last six on the road (3-1-2) and posted a 4-2 triumph on Oct. 22 in their first visit to Washington this season. The Capitals, who are 9-1-1 in their last 11 overall contests, dropped their first two meetings with New York before recording a 4-1 victory at Madison Square Garden on Feb. 28.
TV: 8 p.m. ET, NBC Sports Network, TVAS
ABOUT THE RANGERS (47-26-6): New York, which likely will face Atlantic Division champion Montreal in the first round of the playoffs, will be without four regulars Wednesday due to what coach Alain Vigneault told the team's website were "bumps and bruises." Captain Ryan McDonagh, leading scorer Mats Zuccarello (59 points), Rick Nash and Jesper Fast all will be rested while Brandon Pirri and Pavel Buchnevich are expected to return to the lineup after lengthy absences. The 25-year-old Pirri, who hasn't played since March 9, needs two points to reach 100 for his career.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (53-18-8): Nine different forwards landed on the scoresheet in Tuesday's victory, but Marcus Johansson surprisingly was not one of them. The 26-year-old Swede, who has set career highs with 23 goals and 56 points, was named the NHL's Second Star of the Week on Monday after leading the league with seven assists and eight points as Washington went 3-1-0 last week. After registering 12 assists in his first 15 games since being acquired from St. Louis, defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk scored his first goal with Washington on Tuesday and is two shy of matching the career high of 14 he set last season.
OVERTIME
1. Rangers G Henrik Lundqvist, who will make the start Wednesday, is two wins away from tying Glenn Hall (407) for ninth place on the NHL's all-time list.
2. Washington has gone 13-2-2 in its last 17 divisional games, winning each of the last six.
3. Vigneault needs one victory to overtake Jacques Martin (613) for sole possession of 14th place in NHL history.