Disclaimer: I know I’m trolling with this gif. It was a while ago and it’s still hilarious. Even the staunchest Girardi supporters have to find this to be funny. If it makes you feel any better, in one of my games I covered the puck (I’m a goalie), and shuffled it from my glove to someone who I thought was on my time. He was not. Empty net. I laugh about it now.

The Rangers are in Washington tonight to take on the Eastern Conference favorites. This is the cream of the crop. The team that is likely to come out of the East. Everything is coming up Capitals lately. Guaranteed to win the East. I think if I say this enough, I can curse them.

Tonight is another night where the Rangers take precautions and rest their stars. Rick Nash, Mats Zuccarello, Ryan McDonagh, and Jesper Fast (albeit not a star) are all scratched tonight. The Caps are dressing most of their ‘A’ roster, as they can clinch the President’s Trophy with a win.

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-TJ Oshie
Marcus Johansson-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Justin Williams
Brett Connolly-Lars Eller-Andre Burakovsky
Daniel Winnik-Jay Beagle-Tom Wilson

Karl Alzner-Nate Schmidt
Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik-Kevin Shattenkirk

PP1: Ovechkin-Backstrom-Oshie-Johanssen-Shattenkirk
PP2: Kuznetsov-Burakovsky-Williams-Schmidt-Niskanen

Braden Holtby gets the start.

Rangers Lines

Chris Kreider–Derek Stepan–Pavel Buchnevich
Brandon Pirri–Mika Zibanejad–Jimmy Vesey
Michael Grabner–Kevin Hayes–JT Miller
Tanner Glass–Oscar Lindberg–Matt Puempel

Marc Staal–Kevin Klein
Brendan Smith–Dan Girardi
Adam Clendening-Steven Kampfer

PP1: Five guys, hopefully not all lefties
PP2: A different five guys, hopefully with at least one righty

Henrik Lundqvist gets the start.

Injuries/Scratches: Ryan McDonagh (undisclosed, day to day, not serious), Brady Skjei (healthy), Nick Holden (healthy), Rick Nash (healthy), Mats Zuccarello (healthy), Jesper Fast (healthy)

Crazy Prediction: Ovechkin, upset over the NHL’s refusal to send players to the Olympics, defects back to Russia in the middle of the game.

Game time is 8pm. Gifs are on @blueseatblogs. Be sure to follow our snapchat (blueseatblogs) too!

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