Game Preview: New York Rangers look to repeat against the Capitals

NEW YORK, NEW YORK - FEBRUARY 04: (l-r) Artemi Panarin #10, Ryan Strome #16 and Kaapo Kakko #24 of the New York Rangers celebrates Strome's goal at 7:55 of the third period against Trevor van Riemsdyk #57 and the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on February 04, 2021 in New York City. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) /

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Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates after scoring . (Photo by Rob Carr/Getty Images) /

The Capitals are healthy and looking to get on a roll

After suffering a four game losing streak that included 22 goals against, the Capitals have won their last two. Both games were won with identical 3-1 scores as they now look to extend their winning streak to three games. That effort will be helped along as the team no longer has any players on the COVID-19 Protocol List.

Nicklas Backstrom leads the team with eight goals, 12 assists and 20 points, while having played in all 15 of the team’s games. Alexander Ovechkin is never far from the team lead and has 14 points (5 goals) in 11 games. Tom Wilson, John Carlson and Jakub Vrana round out the top five scorers for the Capitals. Evgeny Kuznetsov has one goal in three games since returning from COVID protocols.

Goalie Vitek Vanecek has taken over the starting duties and has played well, posting a .909% save percentage overall and .960% save percentage over his last two starts. Ilya Samsonov has been recalled from a conditioning assignment after having tested positive for COVID-19 and should be expected to be the back-up.

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