After back-to-back wins on Sunday and Monday night combined with some losses by other teams, the New York Rangers are officially back in playoff position. As of Wednesday morning, the Blueshirts hold the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference; they are tied in points with the Detroit Red Wings but have the regulation wins tiebreaker.
Wednesday night, New York looks to continue its winning ways against one of the best teams in the NHL, the Washington Capitals. Washington (39-14-8) is currently first in the Eastern Conference and Metropolitan Division with 86 points.
New York's matchup against the Capitals will be a true indication of where it lies among the NHL's best. In the past two matchups against Washington, the Blueshirts were outplayed in 5-3 and 7-4 defeats.
This is the teams' first and only matchup of the season at Madison Square Garden. Here's three storylines to watch out for.
1. Can the Rangers stop Alex Ovechkin?
One of the top storylines in the NHL right now is 39-year-old Alex Ovechkin, who is having one of the best seasons of his career. In 45 games, Ovechkin has 48 points (31 goals, 17 assists), all while missing time with a broken leg.
Ovechkin is 11 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky for the most goals all time and continues to score at a rapid rate. He has five goals in his past five games; against the Rangers this season, he has four points (3 goals, one assist).
In a pivotal game Wednesday night, New York's top defensive priority has to be stopping the Great Eight.
2. J.T. Miller makes the Rangers better. But how much better?
Since returning to New York, J.T. Miller has been scorching hot. With another two points on Monday night against the Islanders, he now has 14 points (seven goals, seven assists) in 11 games. Miller has put together a six-game point streak going into Wednesday's tilit.
In both matchups against Washington this season, New York was skated around and were more physically dominant for the majority of the game. But, with Miller, the Rangers have a different outlook.
The hard-nosed center will surely be up to the occasion, but can the Rangers match his style of play against the NHL's best?
3. Can the Rangers outplay a top team?
At the start of the season, a lot of people would have banked on these teams being in opposite positions. It was the Rangers who were supposed to be at the top of the Eastern Conference and Washington was supposed to be the team battling for playoff position. But, the roles have flipped.
New York has won four out of six, but all of those wins have been against teams not in playoff position. The Rangers are 1-7-0 against the top three teams in the Metropolitan Division and 2-10-0 against the top six teams in the East.
If New York wants to keep its season alive, it needs to perform well against elite teams. That starts on Wednesday night at Madison Square Garden when the surging Capitals come to town.