Caps Host Rangers November 10, 2006
Time: 7:00 pm
TV: CSN
Radio: SportsTalk 980
New York Rangers (9-6-1)
Washington Capitals (6-5-4)[/size]
Saturday night finds the New York Rangers at Verizon Center for the first of two visits this season. The Caps suffered a 5-2 setback to the Blueshirts on opening night of the 2006-07 season in New York, and Saturday marks Washington?s first opportunity to even the score.
Washington?s modest two-game winning streak was snapped with a 5-0 loss at Carolina on Thursday. The Caps will try to rebound against the Rangers. Since the start of last season, the Caps have had reasonably good success on the heels of blowout losses.
The Capitals have absorbed 13 losses by four or more goals since the start of the 2005-06 season. They have posted a 6-5-1 record in the games immediately following those blowout losses.
Thursday?s game was a 1-0 affair until the waning minutes of the second period. The Caps missed out on a chance to get even and perhaps take the lead when they had 3:45 of consecutive power play time and 2:00 of consecutive five-on-three time in the second period of that game in Carolina.
Washington has had success against the Rangers in its own building in recent seasons. The Caps are 6-0-0-2 against New York in the Rangers? last eight visits to the Phone Booth. It has been more than six years since the Rangers recorded a regulation win over Washington in the District. The boys from Broadway took a 5-3 decision from the Caps on Nov. 9, 2000.
Washington?s power play ranks 15th in the NHL. The Caps have connected on 16.9% of their power play chances. The Capitals? penalty killing unit ranks 14th in the league with a success rate of 83.7%.
The Caps? special teams have been strong over the team?s last 10 games. Washington?s power play is 9-for-41 (22%) during that stretch while the penalty killing corps has snuffed out 51 of 59 (86.4%) opposition power plays.
In Jaromir Jagr, Michael Nylander and Brendan Shanahan, New York boasts three of the league?s top 10 scorers this season. Martin Straka gives the Rangers four scorers in the NHL?s top 25.
The Rangers are having no trouble scoring goals this season, but sophomore goaltender Henrik Lundqvist has struggled a bit in the early going. A Vezina Trophy finalist as a rookie in 2005-06, Lundqvist?s 3.49 goals against average and .884 save pct. are a far cry from his 2.24 and .922 numbers of a year ago.
Prior to Friday night?s game against the Thrashers in Atlanta, New York was seventh in the NHL with an average of 3.4 goals per game. But the Rangers ranked 27th in goals against, having surrendered goals at a rate of 3.6 per contest.
The Rangers came away with a 5-2 win in a hard-hitting contest at Atlanta on Friday night, giving them four wins in their last five games. Lundqvist picked up his second straight win in the triumph over the Thrashers.
Saturday?s game concludes a three-game road trip for the Rangers, with each of the games coming in a Southeast Division city. New York opened the trip with a 4-3 shootout win over the Panthers in Florida on Wednesday night.
The Rangers have won four straight games on the road and six of their last seven contests away from Madison Square Garden.
Going into Friday night?s tilt in Atlanta, the Rangers ranked ninth in the NHL in power play prowess. New York had clicked on 19.4% of its man advantage opportunities on the season. The Blueshirts are 18th in the league in penalty killing with a kill rate of 83.2%.
The Rangers were 2-for-4 on the power play and 4-for-6 in the penalty killing department in Friday night?s game at Atlanta.
