Washington Capitals play host to the New York Rangersin their fourth and final meeting this season - NHL Previews
The first game of Friday will be hosted by the Washington Capitals at the Verizon Centre as they square off against the New York Rangers.
This will be the fourth and final meeting between the two sides during the course of the season.
The Capitals won the first game 5-3 but the Rangers bounced back with an amazing performance that saw them winning the game 7-0 in the end.
In their most recent game on the 14th of January 2011, the Rangers managed to win the game 2-1 after shootout.
Both the teams are in the Eastern Conference play-off cut but need to improve on the recent performance if they want a guaranteed spot in the play-offs.
The Capitals are on a five-game road trip and play the Rangers in the first home game.
The experts expect some new players being added both the teams as they think of the play-offs with the trade deadline just around the corner.
The Rangers saw a drastic fall in their performances as they lost some huge games of the season.
Rangers shockingly lost six straight games to teams like Carolina Hurricanes, Atlanta Thrashers and the Buffalo Sabres which made the play-offs spot all open as they cut the gap on the seventh placed Rangers.
However, things have gotten better in the Rangers camp as they have managed to win three of their last five games.
They are three points clear of the final play-off position which is occupied by the Carolina Hurricanes. This gap was cut down to a single points however, Tuesday’s game against the Hurricanes saw the Rangers come up with a good performance that saw them
winning the game 3-2 after shootout.
The Rangers have come across seven shootout wins this season which is most by any team in the Eastern Conference but this won’t help their cause if they finish level on points in the last play-off spot.
They definitely need to step up their game if they are looking to make into the play-offs and come up with strong performances there too.
"The guys should feel good because this was a gutsy effort," Rangers coach John Tortorella said after the win.
The Rangers have played 62 games during the season so far out of which they have won 32 games in regulation time, four games have seen them scoring at least a point as they have a total of 68 points.
On the other hand, the Capitals have played 61 games and won 32 games in regulation time, scored a point in ten games scoring 74 points.
The Capitals also need to step up their game if they are looking to emerge as one of the Stanley Cup contenders. Though their place in the play-offs might look safe but it is for now only and they for sure need to come up with wins regularly.
They have won two games in row leading up to this one 2-1 against the Buffalo Sabres and 1-0 against the Pittsburgh Penguins.
However, the interesting fact is that on the last two occasions, when the Capitals have won two straight games they lose the next three games. It would be interesting to see how they perform this time out.
"It's important points-wise, but it's important mentally to start playing your best hockey of the year," Capitals' coach, Bruce Boudreau, told reporters.
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