Well the Rangers are going to see Kevin Shattenkirk at MSG tonight. Except he will be in a Caps jersey. Certainly the ironic twist to a sure-thing, isn’t it? But here we are. The Rangers did get Brendan Smith, but he’s likely not going to make it to New York in time for tonight’s game.
Aside from the trade deadline shenanigans, there is a hockey game to be played. The Rangers have recalled Steven Kampfer, as Dan Girardi is joining Kevin Klein in Club Walking Wounded. Washington appears to be the team to beat right now, and their lineup is ridiculously stacked. But they are without a few forwards. So hey, that’s good.
Caps Systems
Under Barry Trotz the Caps run a 1-1-3 lock or a 1-2-2 forecheck, which they use aggressively or conservatively depending on the game situation (e.g., puck location, the score, etc.). In the defensive zone, Trotz runs your standard zone defense. On special teams, the Caps employ a 1-3-1 power play, and a diamond/box hybrid penalty kill depending on puck location and opposition setup.
For more on these systems, check out our Hockey Systems page.
Caps Lines
Alex Ovechkin-Nicklas Backstrom-Tom Wilson
Marcus Johansson-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Justin Williams
Brett Connolly-Lars Eller-Jakub Vrana
Daniel Winnik-Jay Beagle-Riley Barber
Karl Alzner-John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen
Nate Schmidt-Kevin Shattenkirk
PP1: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie-Johanssen-Carlson
PP2: Kuznetsov-Winnik-Williams-Orlov-Niskanen
Braden Holtby gets the start.
Rangers Lines
Chris Kreider–Mika Zibanejad–Mats Zuccarello
Jimmy Vesey–Derek Stepan–Rick Nash
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–JT Miller
Brandon Pirri–Oscar Lindberg–Jesper Fast
Ryan McDonagh–Nick Holden
Marc Staal–Steven Kampfer
Brady Skjei–Adam Clendening
PP1: Zibanejad-Buchnevich-Nash-Miller-McDonagh
PP2: Stepan-Miller-Kreider-Zuccarello-Holden
Henrik Lundvist gets the start.
Injuries/Scratches: Pavel Buchnevich (healthy), Matt Puempel (healthy), Kevin Klein(upper body), Dan Girardi (ankle)
Crazy Prediction: A Shatty hat trick, because irony..
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