Rangers Head to Nation’s Capital for Matinee Affair

After defeating the Boston Bruins in an original six matchup, the Blueshirts begin a back-to-back with Saturday afternoon’s game in Washington (12PM on ABC).

Rangers	Rankings	Capitals
17-19-1	Record	25-10-3
27th	League Rank	3rd
23rd	Goals For	2nd
18th	Goals Against	5th
23rd	Power play	13th
3rd	Penalty Kill	5th

Previous Game

The Blueshirts are coming off a 2-1 victory over the Boston Bruins on home ice. Despite the win, the Rangers did not play a great game for 40 minutes. But the stellar play of Jonathan Quick, got the Rangers over the line. Quick recorded 32 saves, including numerous A+ chances. Mika Zibanejad and Brett Berard were the Rangers’ goal scorers.

Rangers vs Capitals

Last postseason the Rangers swept the Capitals in the first round and it appeared the two teams had their directions set. For the Rangers, they were Stanley Cup contenders for years to come. They did what was expected of them and handedly defeated the Capitals. For Washington, they were getting older and facing the brink of having to start to think about a rebuild. Fast forward, to the second game of 2025 and these two teams are in complete opposite directions. The Blueshirts are near the bottom of the league and the Capitals find themselves third in the league and playing winning hockey.

The Rangers have begun dismantling their core with the trades of Jacob Trouba and Kaapo Kakko. And rumors continue to swirl around some of their veterans including Chris Kreider and Mika Zibanejad. New York could be staring at a retool if they continue down the path they are on.

With Igor Shesterkin on IR, Quick will once again be in goal for the Rangers. Louis Domingue was recalled and he has a chance of playing in Chicago on Sunday afternoon. Quick is 6-4 with a .913 save percentage.

When talking about the Capitals, it is impossible not to mention Alex Ovechkin who continues to chase down Wayne Gretzky’s goal record. Ovechkin sits just 23 goals behind Gretzky’s 894 career goal record. Out of Ovechkin’s 871 goals, 44 of them have come against the Rangers. Despite playing in just 22 games out of the team’s 38, Ovechkin has recorded 18 goals on the season – nearly a goal-per-game pace.

Leading the Capitals in points is Dylan Strome with 41 points in 38 games. Aliaksei Protas is having a breakout season as the 23-year-old has 32 points including 16 goals. Protas has already set a career high in points beating last year’s total of 29.

Logan Thompson will get the start for the Capitals. Thompson is 15-2-2 with a .918 save percentage on the season. Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have split the starts right down the middle with 19 each.

For the Rangers, expect the same lineup that won against the Bruins. The Rangers are desperate for wins as they know they need to go on a run if they are to try and save their season.