Rangers Vs. Capitals Preview: Rangers Finally Return To Action Tonight
The New York Rangers will finally return to action tonight as they take on the Washington Capitals starting at 7:00 PM.
After a three day layoff, the New York Rangers will finally be back in action tonight against the Washington Capitals, starting at 7:00 PM. Despite starting out their previous home stand on the wrong foot, the Rangers were able to string together two back-to-back wins to close it out on a high note. Over these last two games, the Rangers also played some really dominating hockey, and appear to be back on the upward side of things. All four lines were clicking, and they were all generating a ton of scoring chances as well.
Henrik Lundqvist sat the last two games, and will do so again tonight as Cam Talbot makes his third straight appearance for the Rangers. AV has taken a lot of flack over the last several weeks for making questionable decisions, but I think it's safe to say he made the right choice with Talbot. Lundqvist has been the heart and sole for this team for his entire career, and there's no denying that. He's just hit a rough patch here over the last several weeks, and Talbot is the right choice at the moment.
He's playing a confident game in between the pipes, which in turn, rubs off of the rest of the team and helps them play to their strengths as well. Again, Talbot was brought in because he was capable of playing 20 or so games in an Olympic year, and you're seeing that right now.
There was an optional morning skate today, so there weren't any real indications of any lineup changes. With things finally going right for the Rangers, I don't foresee AV making any drastic changes to his lineup. The full projected lineup can be found below.
VS. 
New York Rangers (18-18-2) vs Washington Capitals (19-14-4)
Verizon Center - Washington, DC - 7:00 PM
Television: MSG 2, CSN-DC | Radio: ESPN NY 98.7 |
Opponent's Blog: Japers' Rink
Projected Lineup:
Chris Kreider - Derek Stepan - Rick Nash
Derick Brassard - Brad Richards - Mats Zuccarello
Carl Hagelin - J.T. Miller - Benoit Pouliot
Brian Boyle - Dominic Moore - Derek Dorsett
Ryan McDonagh - Dan Girardi
John Moore - Anton Stralman
Michael Del Zotto - Justin Falk
Cam Talbot
Henrik Lundqvist
Scratches/Injuries: Marc Staal (concussion), Ryan Callahan (MCL sprain), Taylor Pyatt (healthy).
