It's another game day for the New York Rangers. They started 2025 on the right foot with a win over the Boston Bruins, where Jonathan Quick was exceptional. The Blueshirts will be looking to continue their good work with a win tonight against the Washington Capitals. The Metropolitan Division leaders will be a difficult opponent for the Rangers, but a win tonight could be massive as New York looks to turn its season around in 2025.
With Igor Shesterkin on the shelf, Jonathan Quick sparkled against the Boston Bruins. However, the 38-year-old cannot be expected to do that every night for the Rangers. At some point, the Blueshirts must find another way to win games. New York's struggles cannot be overcome by sensational netminding from Quick. These fantastic goaltenders the Rangers possess will require help from the defense to keep chances to a minimum and goal support from the forward core. Without that, these struggles will continue.
Washington has one major storyline to follow: the Great Eight. Alex Ovechkin is closing in on Wayne Gretzky's all-time goal-scoring record. The watch is on as Ovechkin needs just 24 to become the NHL's all-time goal leader. New York will be trying to protect the legacy of the former Blueshirt, but the Capitals will be playing for their captain. New York has to be wary of his deadly shot on the powerplay.
Projected Lineups
New York Rangers
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Reilly Smith
Will Cuylle - Filip Chytil - Brett Berard
Adam Edstrom - Sam Carrick - Jimmy Vesey
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Will Borgen
Urho Vaakanainen - Braden Schneider
Jonathan Quick
Louis Domingue
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Taylor Raddysh
Aliaksei Protas - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael - Lars Eller - Ivan Miroshnichenko - Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Andrew Mangiapane
Rasmus Sandin - John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun - Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Puck Drop
It's a 5 p.m. puck drop from Capital One Arena in Washington D.C. A matinee throws everyone out of routine, and the Rangers can catch the Capitals early if they start this game well. They've already been bested by the Capitals this season in the battle of the Lindgren brothers, but a win tonight would fix the issues of that loss. We'll see if the Rangers can continue to build on their good start to 2025.