After a dominant performance Saturday afternoon against the New Jersey Devils, the Rangers seek an encore against the Washington Capitals (12:30 P.M. ET, MSG).
The Blueshirts got goals from Brady Skjei, Jimmy Vesey, Chris Kreider and two goals from Ryan Strome in his 400th career game. Strome now has six points in the last seven games.
However, the big news came after the game when the Rangers made their first move of the trade deadline. The Blueshirts acquired a conditional second-round pick in 2019 and a conditional third-round pick in 2020 from the Dallas Stars in exchange for Mats Zuccarello. Zuccarello had been with the Rangers since 2010 and he registered 352 points in 509 games. Dallas will be just the second team Zuccarello has ever played for.
Conditions of the trade
The 2019 second-round pick becomes a first-round pick if Dallas wins two playoff rounds
The 2020 third-round pick becomes a first-round pick if Zuccarello resigns in Dallas
While the entire Rangers will miss Zuccarello, they know they must move on and remain focus for the rest of the season.
“If you’re going to be a professional athlete, you have to be mentally tough,” said head coach David Quinn, after Saturday’s game. “I thought our guys showed a lot of mental toughness today.”
Quinn will look for that mental toughness as they take on a tough Washington Capitals team. The Capitals were victims of a Saturday afternoon defeat to the Buffalo Sabres. Washington will look to bounce back as they also complete a back-to-back. Pheonix Copley will start for the Capitals. Copley won his only meeting against the Rangers in November making 27 saves in a 5-3 win.
The Capitals are also making moves as the trade deadline looms. The Capitals acquired Nick Jensen from Detroit and Carl Hagelin from the Los Angeles Kings. Hagelin played four seasons in New York and registered 130 points.
Henrik Lundqvist will make his 40th career start against the Capitals. Neal Pionk has four points in two games against the Capitals this season. Adam McQuaid and Kevin Hayes will remain healthy scratches. Except for Lundqvist starting, the Rangers are expected to dress the same lineup.
Projected Lineup:
Kreider-Zibanejad-Vesey
Namestnikov-Strome-Fast
Chytil-Andersson-Buchnevich
Nieves-Brickley
Staal-DeAngelo
Skjei-Pionk
Claesson-Shattenkirk
Smith
Lundqvist
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