WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Loaned forwards Ivan Miroshnichenko and Hendrix Lapierre to AHL Hershey, 12/23
Loaned forward Mike Sgarbossa to AHL Hershey, 12/22
Recalled forward Mike Sgarbossa from AHL Hershey, 12/21
INJURIES/ILLNESSES
T.J. Oshie: 11/27-12/7, 12/17-12/23 (10 games)
Sonny Milano: 10/29, 12/14-12/23 (7 games)
Nicklas Backstrom: 11/2-12/23 (23 games)
Max Pacioretty: 10/13-12/23 (31 games)
Connor McMichael: 12/20-12/21 (2 games)
Evgeny Kuznetsov: 11/18-11/22, 12/14 (3 games)
Charlie Lindgren: 10/16-10/27, 12/2 (7 games)
Martin Fehervary: 11/11-11/24 (5 games)
Anthony Mantha: 11/10-11/14 (3 games)
Darcy Kuemper: 11/10-11/11 (2 games)
Trevor van Riemsdyk: 11/8-11/14 (4 games)
Nic Dowd: 10/18-11/8 (9 games)
Joel Edmundson: 10/13-11/14 (14 games)
Man Games Lost: 120
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals visit the New York Rangers on Wednesday at Madison Square Garden for the second of four meetings between the teams this season. Washington shutout the Rangers 4-0 on Dec. 9 at Capital One Arena, backed by a 31-save effort by Charlie Lindgren and goals from Sonny Milano, Anthony Mantha, Tom Wilson and Nicolas Aube-Kubel. The Capitals and Rangers will play three times and complete their regular-season series in a 19-day span starting with Wednesday’s tilt (Dec. 27 at NYR; Jan. 13 vs. NYR; Jan. 14 at NYR). Washington is 116-99-18-8 all-time vs. New York and 6-4-0 in their last 10 games against the Rangers.
Penalty Skill – Over their last seven games, the Capitals have killed off 25 of 26 opposing power-play opportunities (96.2 percent). – Since Dec. 9, the start of the seven-game stretch, Washington ranks second in the NHL in penalty kill percentage. – This season, the Capitals rank tied for ninth in the NHL in penalty kill percentage (82.7 percent).
Powering Up – The Capitals have scored eight power-play goals in their last 12 games. – Washington has converted eight of 36 power-play opportunities (22.2 percent) since Nov. 30, including two 4-on-3 power-play goals in overtime on Dec. 20 vs. NYI and Dec. 21 at Columbus.
Dishing It Out – John Carlson recorded three assists on Dec. 21 at Columbus, his 12th career game with three or more assists. – Carlson enters Wednesday’s game against the Rangers with 499 career assists. – Carlson can become the sixth active defenseman and the 34th blueliner in NHL history to record 500 assists. – In addition, Carlson (958 GP) can become the 23rd defenseman in NHL history to reach the 500-assist mark in fewer than 1,000 games played. – Among the 22 defensemen who have accomplished the feat in fewer than 1,000 games, 17 are in the Hockey Hall of Fame, while three are still active (Erik Karlsson, Kris Letang and Victor Hedman). – Of the 26 defensemen with 500 career assists who are also currently eligible for the Hall of Fame, 20 have been inducted.
Did You Know? – The Capitals are 9-0-2 when scoring first this season. Washington is one of two teams yet to lose in regulation when scoring first (also Florida: 12-0-2). – Washington is 16-0-4 when scoring two or more goals this season. – The Capitals are 10-1-5 in one-goal games this season. Washington’s .625 win percentage in one-goal games is the seventh highest in the NHL. – Washington’s 10 comeback wins this season are tied for the fourth most in the NHL. – The Capitals are 9-0-0 when leading after the first period this season. Washington is one of three teams in the NHL with a perfect record when leading after the first 20 minutes (Minnesota: 10-0-0; Detroit: 9-0-0).
NEW YORK RANGERS NOTES:
RANGERS RUNDOWN
– The New York Rangers return from the holiday break for a meeting against Metropolitan Division rival Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden (7:00 PM ET – TV: MSG 2 – Radio: ESPN 1050 AM). This is New York’s final home game of 2023. – The Rangers headed into the holiday break with 23 wins, tied for the most in the NHL. Since 1966-67, it is the fifth time (2023-24, 2016-17, 1993-94, 1969-70, 1966-67) that the Blueshirts have had the most (or tied for the most) wins in the league through Christmas Day. – The Blueshirts have won four of their last five games and eight of their last 12 games. The teams’ 23 wins are tied for the most in the NHL and their 47 points rank tied for second in the league. Their .734 point percentage is the highest in the league. – The Rangers’ plus-19 goal differential ranks first in the Eastern Conference and sixth in the NHL. – The Blueshirts have scored at least one power play goal in seven straight games, their longest such streak since Oct. 5-22, 2009 (8 GP). New York has the NHL’s best power play percentage (31.1) while has scored power play goals in 12 of their last 14 games and in 26 of 32 games this season. The team’s 32 power play goals this year are the second most in the NHL. – Tonight, Mika Zibanejad is set to play in his 800th career NHL game. – At MSG against the Capitals, the Blueshirts have won three of their last four and seven of their last 10 games. – On home ice, the Blueshirts are 11-4-0 and in the calendar year of 2023, their 26 home wins rank tied for second in the NHL. LAST GAME – The Rangers have the best faceoff percentage in the NHL with a 54.8 percent mark and have been over 50 percent in the faceoff circle in 25 of 32 games. Since 1997-98 when the league started tracking FOW%, the team hasn’t finished a season over 53.3 percent. – New York has the league’s fourth best (tied) penalty kill percentage (85.7) and have had a perfect PK in seven of its last nine games. – The Rangers have 11 comeback wins on the season, tied for the second most in the NHL, and six wins when trailing at any point in the third period, tied for the most in the NHL. – New York has 11 one-goal wins, tied for the second most in the NHL and are 7-0-0 when tied after two periods.
MAN GAMES LOST – 52
PLAYER INJURY/REASON DATES MISSED CONS. GAMES MISSED
Kaapo Kakko Lower Body Nov. 29-Dec. 23 12
Filip Chytil Upper Body Nov. 4-Dec. 23 22
SLAP SHOTS
– Jacob Trouba’s 103 blocked shots are the most in the NHL. – Nick Bonino ranks first among forwards with 57 blocked shots and since 2021-22, Bonino leads all forwards in blocked shots with 238. – Will Cuylle ranks first among rookies in hits with 82. – Blake Wheeler has a point streak of three games and has seven points (3G-4A) in his past six games. – The Rangers have a regular season record of 42-11-6 when Kreider and Zibanejad score a goal in the same game.
