Dec. 9 vs. New York Rangers at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
New York Rangers (18-5-1)
Washington Capitals (12-8-3)
The Caps conclude their final homestand of calendar 2023 on Saturday night when they host the New York Rangers for the first time this season. Washington has three remaining December home games after Saturday’s skirmish with the Blueshirts, but all are single-game affairs. The Caps’ next homestand is a five-game stay from Jan. 3-Jan. 13, a homestand that concludes with the second of the Rangers’ two visits to the District this season.
Saturday’s game also starts a weekend set of back-to-back games for the Capitals, who will depart the District immediately after facing the Rangers. Washington has a Sunday night date with the Blackhawks in Chicago, the first of four straight road games for the Caps.
Along with Philadelphia and Carolina, the Rangers are one of three fellow Metropolitan Division clubs the Caps have yet to see this season. The Capitals will visit both Philadelphia and Carolina later this month. Saturday’s game with the Rangers is the first of four meetings – the entire season’s series between the two teams – between Washington and New York in a span of 37 days. The Caps play four of their next 18 games against the Rangers, and Saturday’s game kicks off a critical stretch in which Washington will play 12 of its next 18 games against fellow occupants of the Metro Division.
Following an up-and-down five-game road trip out west, the Caps returned home to host Dallas in the opener of their two-game homestand on Thursday night. Washington celebrated Alex Ovechkin’s 1,500th career point, Evgeny Kuznetsov’s 700th career game and Dylan Strome’s 100th career goal, but it had to settle for a single point in a 5-4 shootout loss to the Stars.
“We’ll take it,” says Strome, who scored two goals to help the Caps to the point on Thursday. “Hopefully, we can build on it and score some goals. The power play got one, so maybe build toward something there and hopefully get some more.
“Obviously, we all care about scoring on the power play, and it was nice to finally get one. But hopefully we can build on it and come out Saturday with two points. It’s a big divisional game, and I’m looking forward to it.”
Thursday’s loss stung because the Caps managed to break out of an offensive dry spell with a quartet of goals manufactured in diverse fashion and with input from a variety of players, and also because they failed to manage a two-goal lead they forged with a stretch of strong play in the front half of the second period. Despite never trailing in the game, the Caps lost for the 11th time in the Stars’ last 12 visits to the District. Washington is now 1-8-3 at home against the Stars since 2007-08.
“The offensive component of it was pretty good,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “The power play scores a goal, we get the first goal of the game. Kuzy’s goal to go up 3-1 was a big goal in that moment. So there were some real good things offensively, and then obviously putting it in the back of the net, not only getting the chances, but finishing on them was good to see. I think it’s something that we can build off, no question.”
With two games and travel looming this weekend, the Caps opted for a rather quiet day on Friday in preparation for what promises to be a grueling patch of schedule ahead. This weekend begins a stretch in which the Caps will travel for a dozen straight games, and they'll play five sets of back-to-back games in a span of 26 days. To this point of the season, Washington has had three sets of back-to-backs in 60 days.
“Today, we felt like it was important – with the [recent] road trip and the amount of games that we’ve had – to just take a bit of a deep breath here,” says Carbery. “Get more guys away from what went on [Thursday] night, and reset, recharge and get ready for [Saturday].”
In their first season under ex-Caps’ coach Peter Laviolette, the Rangers have roared out to a strong start. Going into Friday night’s slight slate of NHL activity, New York owned the best record in the NHL from a points percentage (.771) perspective. At 10-3-1, the Rangers own the circuit’s second-best road mark behind only the thus far perfect (11-0-0) Los Angeles Kings.
Two dozen games into the season, the Rangers still haven’t dropped consecutive games in regulation. They’ll be seeking to avoid that fate on Saturday in Washington; the Blueshirts dropped the opener of a two-game road stretch on Tuesday night in Ottawa, falling 6-2 to the Senators. Following their five regulation losses this season, the Rangers are 5-0-0 and they’ve outscored the opposition by a combined 15-7 in the process.
New York heads home after Saturday’s game; it hosts Los Angeles on Sunday in the opener of a three-game homestand and the back half of a weekend set of back-to-backs. The Capitals will visit the Rangers in Manhattan on Dec. 27, immediately after the NHL’s three-day holiday break.
