New York Rangers look ahead to game two against the Washington Capitals tonight
By Conor Power
It's game day in New York. Your New York Rangers will be looking to take a 2-0 lead to the District as they try to defeat the Washington Capitals again. With a 1-0 lead in the series already, the Rangers understand they have a chance to be in complete control before heading down the road to DC. Madison Square Garden will see this series progress as the two teams duel.
New York has to be better to start this game if they want to win tonight. A sloppy start against the Capitals in game one was overcome with five dominant minutes in the second period. The Blueshirts have struggled to start on time in recent games, so doing so tonight in a higher-pressure situation will give them a leg-up against an inferior team in every facet. Starting well and forcing the Capitals to try to match the superior play of the Blueshirts is the best course for victory.
Washington will be down another defenseman after Vincent Iorio left game one with an upper-body injury following a collision with Alexis Lafreniere. An injury to one defenseman provides an opportunity for another and means that Lucas Johansen finds himself in line for the first playoff start of his career. With the pressure on for the Capitals tonight to try and get something from the Garden, there needs to be a stronger link in the Capitals lineup.
Projected Lineups
Washington Capitals
Alex Ovechkin - Connor McMichael - T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas - Dylan Strome - Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty - Hendrix Lapierre - Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn - Nic Dowd - Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary - John Carlson
Alexander Alexeyev - Dylan McIlrath
Lucas Johansen - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
New York Rangers
Chris Kreider - Mika Zibanejad - Jack Roslovic
Artemi Panarin - Vincent Trocheck - Alexis Lafreniere
Will Cuylle - Alex Wennberg - Kaapo Kakko
Jimmy Vesey - Barclay Goodrow - Matt Rempe
Ryan Lindgren - Adam Fox
K'Andre Miller - Braden Schneider
Erik Gustafsson - Jacob Trouba
Igor Shesterkin
Jonathan Quick
Puck Drop
A 7 p.m. puck drop from Madison Square Garden will get game two underway. A win for the Rangers would put the Blueshirts in a commanding position heading into the double-header at CapitalOne Arena. A loss here would put the series back in the balance and gift home-ice advantage back to the Capitals for the remainder. Can the Rangers hold home ice? We'll find out tonight.