Tonight at 8 p.m. ET, the New York Rangers (41-17-7, 89 points) and Washington Capitals (36-21-10, 82 points) face-off for the second of four meetings this season live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
New York has won two straight games and two of its first three contests in a five-match road trip while Washington has won three out of its last four games and plays the third contest of a five-match home stand.
The Rangers enter play in second place in the Metropolitan Division, just one point behind the division-leading New York Islanders (90) and four points ahead of the third place Pittsburgh Penguins (85).
The Capitals own the top wild-card spot with a four point lead over the Boston Bruins (78), who own the second and final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. The team is also just three points out of third place in the Metropolitan.
The first time these two teams met, the Rangers defeated the Capitals 4-2 on Dec. 23.
This game is part of the Wednesday Night Rivalry and can be live streamed for free here.
Two Hart Trophy candidates go head-to-head as Alex Ovechkin leads the Capitals against Rick Nash and the Rangers.
The Rangers enter play on the heels of a 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Tuesday.
Nash paces New York with 62 points and is second in the NHL with 39 goals this season while his linemate Derick Brassard has 14 markers and a team-best 38 assists to rank second on the Rangers with 52 points. Nash notched a hat trick against Washington last time these teams met.
The Capitals come in on the back of a 6-1 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday.
Ovechkin leads the NHL with 44 goals and is tied with Nicklas Backstrom (18 tallies, 51 helpers) for the Capitals lead with 69 points.
The team expects a tough matchup with the Rangers.
"They're a hot team," Capitals defenseman John Carlson told NHL.com. "They have been since Christmas time. They're deadly. We know what they're capable of. We've seen them many times in the past and all their teams are similar to each other. They've had a lot of success and we've got to be on our toes, ready for this game. It's a real meaningful one."
In between the pipes, Washington turns to Braden Holtby and he is 32-16-9 this season with a 2.15 goals-against average and a .925 save percentage.
New York will counter with Cam Talbot in the crease and he's played very well in the absence of netminder Henrik Lundqvist (throat) and is 15-6-4 overall this season with a 2.25 GAA and a .922 save percentage.
"I've played some pretty good hockey in the past 15 or 16 games," Talbot told the New York Daily News after allowing one goal on 30 shots against the Islanders on Tuesday. "It's just been a lot of fun to have this opportunity. You never want [Lundqvist's injury] to go down like that, but you just need some guys to step up. It was my turn this time."
Two huge points hang in the balance when the puck drops on two Metropolitan Division rivals tonight when the Rangers and Capitals take the ice live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
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