Caps @ Rangers 11-17-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (12-8; 28 points) @ New York Rangers (11-9; 23 points):
Caps Game #21, Road Game #10, NHL Game #289

Madison Square Garden, New York, NY, 7:10 pm. Washington TV: None. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. New York TV: None. Radio: WEPN 1050-AM.  U.S. National TV: Versus.  Canadian National TV: TSN2  NHL Center Ice: None.

Tonight, the Caps travel to New York to face the Rangers for the second time this season.  Back in October, the Rangers skated off with a 4-3 win in D.C. The Rangers though have been up and down lately.  While they won their last outing, a 2-1 gimmick win in Ottawa over the Senators on Saturday, they are just 3-3 in their last six games overall.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

New York Daily News. Rangers.com.

Open Source Idiocy:

New York Post.

What Do We Expect Tonight?:

As the Caps pass the quarter mark on the season tonight, it seems a little odd to hearken back to the playoffs from last year but considering the series between the Caps and the Rangers last year, that is something we can indulge in.  The Caps return to Madison Square Garden for the first time since Game 6 when they chased Henrik Lundqvist from the net after two periods for the second game in a row.  Rangers Head Coach John Tortorella, true to his form, has been rotating goaltenders recently on Broadway with Steve Valiquette getting some starts recently for the Rangers but as we've noted already, the results have been mixed.  However, goaltending situation for the Caps isn't quite settled either.  While Jose "Alvin, Simon," Theodore is still officially the number one goaltender, Semyon "The Saviour" Varlamov could (and we think should) get the nod tonight because he drove the Rangers nuts last year in the playoffs.  Add in the expected return of A.O. to the Caps lineup a few weeks early and things look pretty good for the Caps tonight especially since the Rangers had a hard time containing Ilya Kovalchuk in his return to action for the Thrashers last week.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 5
Rangers 3
Winner by A.O.
(8-12 on the season with one perfect game)