After celebrating the holidays during the Christmas break, the Rangers are back on home ice where they will take on the Washington Capitals (7:00PM on MSG2)
| Rangers | Rankings | Capitals |
| 23-8-1 | Record | 17-9-5 |
| 2nd | League Rank | 13th |
| 12th | Goals For | 31st |
| 8th | Goals Against | 6th |
| 1st | Power play | 29th |
| 5th | Penalty Kill | 11th |
- This is the second time the two teams will meet this season. The first meeting was won by the Capitals in Washington by the score of 4-0.
- Ryan Lindgren’s brother, Charlie Lindgren recorded 31 saves on route to shutting out the Rangers
- Darcy Kuemper will get the start in goal for Washington. He has not yet faced the Rangers this season
- Kuemper has a .900 save percentage this season
- Igor Shesterkin will be back in goal for New York as he has played in three of the past four games. Shesterkin has provided three straight .900+ save percentage performances
- Dylan Strome and Alex Ovechkin are each tied for the team lead in points with 20 in 31 games
- Ovechkin has just six goals so far this season
- Capitals injuries include Max Pacioretty, T.J. Oshie, Nicklas Backstrom, and Sonny Milano. Pacioretty hasn’t played in a game this season or for Washington. Milano is currently listed as day-to-day
- Rangers head coach Peter Laviolette told the media prior to the game that Kaapo Kakko and Filip Chytil are improving, but that they will need to be reassess in the coming days
- Mika Zibanejad has been on a tear since the Rangers were shutout by the Capitals on December 9th. In each of the past two games, the Swedish center has a highlight reel assist
- Zibanejad has 13 points in the past seven games and he has at least a point in each of those games
Bet of the night
The bet of the night – Mika Zibanejad to record one assist. At +100 odds, a $5 bet will double your money to win $5 on DraftKings. The Rangers alternate captain has an assist in five of the past six games. If you are feeling a bigger game, Zibanejad to record two points is valued at +230 on Fanduel. Zibanejad has had two points in each of the previous three games
Current record: 11-7
Current Money Total (Based on $5 bets) – We are up $31 on the season
Projected Lineup
Kreider-Zibanejad-Wheeler
Panarin-Trocheck-Lafreniere
Cuylle-Bonino-Brodzinski
Vesey-Goodrow-Pitlick
Lindgren-Fox
Miller-Trouba
Gustafsson-Schneider
Shesterkin
