A Sunday game from Capitol One Arena from our nations Capital, Washington D.C. The NY Rangers visit the Caps in an East division showdown at noon. The Caps recently won both games vs the Devils, the most recent one being a 4-0 win as Ilya Samsonov grabbed a shutout. The Rangers last two games have been very different from one another. The 1st one vs the Flyers was a thumping 8-3 win as Mikka Zibenajad got a hat trick and 3 assists. The next one was 1-2 loss as Philadelphia made a 1 goal defecit comeback. The Caps can go 2 points ahead of the Islanders with a home win here or the Rangers can tie the Flyers on points with a win today.
The Rangers top line has been playing really well. Fox is getting a lot of assists, Panarin, Strome, and Zibenajad are scoring as well as giving assists, and Kreider is also doing those things. Their goalies are also playing better than before. Not only the top line, the 2nd line too is sparkling. I feel Jacob Trouba, Pavel Buchnevich, and Alexis Lafreniere are going to be an important part of the Rangers from this point forward and will be scoring more. Of course they have a lot to learn but when they are on their game, they can be effective. These 3 will be a key part of New York moving forward into the future. I think the Rangers will spring up soon enough and really push for the top 4 for the playoffs. This is a team which is developing and learning and will beat some of the teams which are close to them to get into the postseason.
The Caps have to keep their momentum up and hope that Isles lose every game. They are neck to neck and it seems it’s going to come down to goal difference and who won more meetings when they played. Their top line has been playing great, especially Alex Ovechkin. At the beginning of the season, he wasn’t on scoring form but now he is really looking like himself. Kuznetsov, my favorite player on the Caps is also scoring more now in these big games which is helpful to his team. This hockey team can easily break and can create odd man rushes. At the start of the year, I was a bit worried about them but now they are challenging Barry Trotz’s team for 1st place. New York will be tough for them but I have faith in them to win this game.
I believe the Washington Capitals will win 5-3. It will be a tight game but I think a strong 3rd period will lead them past this team. They have a lot of confidence looking back at their last 10 games which will push them through this game. Both goalies Vitek Vanecek and Samsonov have been much more consistent since the start of the campaign and have gotten into their seam. Vanecek was at the goal almost every game because Samsonov was on the COVID-19 list. Now with Samsonov back on squad, it gives Vanecek a bit of a breather so he can perform better in the games which he starts. Having both goalies back gives this team more flexibility.
Both teams have star players who are splendid and are so talented. Can the Rangers come to Wasington D.C and upset them or will the Capitals win this game and go first in the division? We will find out very soon on a soggy and rainy day from D.C.
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