Cold Shot – Six months ago – almost to the day – the Caps were ousted from the Stanley Cup playoffs by the New York Rangers. The games were close, but the Caps found it difficult to seize and maintain momentum, and they were swept in four straight games.

During the 2023-24 regular season, the Caps and Rangers split four games, with each team winning twice in its own building. Tonight, the Caps and the Blueshirts tangle for the first of just three meetings – Washington will only visit Manhattan once in ’24-25 – between the two Metropolitan Division rivals this season.

Tonight’s game starts a three-game homestand for the Caps, who saw their five-game winning streak halted on Saturday night at the hands of the Lightning – and goaltender Andrej Vasilevskiy – in Tampa Bay in a 3-0 loss.

The 2024-25 Capitals are a much different club than the one the Rangers swept aside six months ago, and New York is still very much one of the elite teams of the Eastern Conference. The Caps are seeking to start up another streak tonight against yet another formidable foe in the Rangers.

“I don’t think we look at it too much, but obviously some things to be learned,” says Caps’ center Nic Dowd. “They’re playing the same system, same coach, a lot of the same personnel. As much as we play these guys throughout the year as well – towards the end of the year – they’re doing the same thing. We’re going to pick up on tendencies and try and find ways to gain an advantage. We’re not in here talking about the first round of playoffs last year; it’s said and done. We’ve moved on, and it’s a new season, but you’re always looking to create an advantage.”

Creating an advantage against one of the League’s top teams is no easy feat. New York started last season on an 18-4-1 roll, and the Rangers are well on their way toward a similar first quarter of the season with a 6-1-1 mark. New York ranks second in goals against (2.00 per game) and third in goals scored (4.25 per game) to this point in the young season.

Rangers’ goalie Igor Shesterkin is every bit as capable of being the brick wall Vasilevskiy was on Saturday night, and that’s not the only similarity between the Lightning and the Rangers.

“I would say the other similarity that I find is the top six,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “They’ve got a top six that can go head-to-head with Tampa, and I would put them right up there with Tampa’s as two of the more formidable top sixes [in the NHL]. And New York, with the way their third line has been playing this year, you could argue it’s their top nine.

“But goaltender wise, it’s the same challenge and it’s very, very significant. We have to do a better job in a bunch of different areas. You’re very rarely going to beat guys of his caliber clean, even if you’re right in the slot and even if you’re on a breakaway. As hard as that is – because they’re just they’re that good – it has to be secondary chances, [shots] that they don’t see, and multiple looks – one, two, three, four – in a matter of 10 seconds. That’s something that we can do a lot better job of, is not necessarily just looking for that first shot, because that one’s probably going to be stopped. But how do we find those second and third ones?”

With an average of 33.4 shots on net per game this season, the Rangers rank fourth in that category as well. Maybe this is where Washington can forge an advantage. The Caps have been the second stingiest team in the NHL thus far in permitting shots on net; they’ve allowed an average of just 26 per game, just behind frontrunning Carolina (25.9).

“I think it’s part of the reason why we’ve been successful,” begins Carbery, “or why we have had some success early in the season and have been able to carry some play in games, is we are pretty dialed in when it comes to how we check these teams, and how we need to play structurally, and it gives us a chance to win every night. And that’s where you get the low shot numbers, and the scoring chances, other than a couple of periods.

“We’ve done a real good job of making sure that we limit what we’re giving up by being really, really good structurally without the puck, our checking against top players, knowing who you’re out [on the ice against], and all that stuff, but then also trying to keep the puck away from them by having good offensive sequences for our own selves. Thus far, we’ve done a good job in that. Now, it’s going to be a significant challenge once again, with the way that their third line is playing.”

Washington has faced a number of the League’s best teams in the early going, and they’ve had some success at stifling the top players of some strong offensive clubs such as Vegas, Dallas, New Jersey and Tampa Bay.

“I think our defensive has been really, really good this year,” says Dowd. “I think they’ve, done a really good job breaking the puck out; that’s why you see them involved in the offense as much as we have seen in the last games. I think they do a great job of breaking the puck out, getting the puck into the forwards’ hands, and allow us to go play offense.

“And then I think we’re doing a good job of forechecking. It’s the old cliché thing, right? The best defense is a good offense. I think we’re doing a good job of playing in the offensive zone. We’re creating opportunities, we’re forechecking pucks, and then we’re limiting teams and trying to limit teams’ ability to enter [our zone] with clean possession, which can lead to opportunities. We’re doing a good job of making them put the puck in, and then our [defensemen] are doing a good job of breaking it out.”

Mix It Up – For each of the last six games, the Caps dressed and played the same 20 players, a dozen forwards, half a dozen defensemen and a pair of goaltenders. Tonight, there is a change in the Washington lineup. Center Hendrix Lapierre will sit out tonight’s game in favor of veteran pivot Mike Sgarbossa, who joined the Caps for Monday morning’s practice session after being summoned from AHL Hershey late the night before.

Over the final third of last season, Lapierre was consistently effective and impactful; with six goals and 15 points in his last 26 games, he was tied for sixth on the team in scoring during that stretch. He also showed well in the Caps’ brief foray into the playoffs last spring. After that, Lapierre returned to Hershey where he helped lead the Bears to a second straight Calder Cup title, winning AHL playoff MVP honors along the way.

But thus far this season, the 22-year-old Lapierre is without a point in seven games, and he has yet to be on the ice for a Washington goal scored while being on the sheet for five scored against the Capitals.

“I think with the way his season has started overall and the way it has trended the last few games,” says Carbery, “it’s an appropriate time for him to step out of the lineup, take a deep breath, watch a game, and give him a little bit of a mental break, to be able to reset.

“As for what he needs to do, I think there’s a bunch of different areas. I’m not going to get into the details of his game. I think the biggest thing overriding for him to have a positive [impact] – I’m not talking about goals, assists, points, or anything like that – is just being the more impactful player that we saw last year, and having a positive impact. It’s not going to be all the time, but just 60 or 70 percent of the time, being a positive, impactful player inside of our lineup.”

Sgarbossa is no stranger to DC. He originally signed with the Caps as a free agent on July 1, 2018, and he is now in his eighth season in the organization. Like Lapierre, Sgarbossa was an important player for the Caps down the stretch last season; he totaled four goals and seven points in 25 games, all of them in the final third of the campaign.

This marks the fifth season in which Sgarbossa has suited up for the Capitals. He is a veteran of 581 regular season AHL games, and the 32-year-old native of Campbellville, Ont. is expected to dress for his 91st career NHL game tonight. With Hershey this season, Sgarbossa has a goal and nine points in just seven games.

Over his time in the Caps’ organization, the well-respected veteran has made a number of trips back and forth between Washington and Hershey.

“The trip was a little later in the night this time around,” he quips. “But as far as my play, I feel pretty strong so far, at the start of the year. The team has been playing really good, and personally I feel like I’ve been getting better each game, and I’ve started where I left off. I feel pretty confident in making some plays and in trying to translate that, now that I’ve come up here.”

Last season, Sgarbossa averaged around 11 minutes per night with Washington, and he saw a bit of time on both special teams as well. At the AHL level he is a top six player, and he will center for Andrew Mangiapane and Jakub Vrana tonight, a pair of players who are capable of lighting the lamp.

“Just a reliable game, play hard, play smart,” says Sgarbossa of what is expected from him at this level. “And then when the opportunity comes to make some plays, when it’s there offensively, let your skill set take over. As long as I do those first two things – compete and make the smart plays – the rest of my game tends to take care of itself I think [Carbery] is looking to stabilize down the middle on the third line, and just bring more of a two-way style play, and be responsible making plays.”

In playing seven games with the Bears, Sgarbossa has had a good taste of what it’s like to play for a team that has won back-to-back championships.

“I think what it does is you what it takes to win,” says Sgarboss. “And I think the difference is sometimes you don’t always have your best game, or your legs, or whatever it is, but you’re still able to go off that experience of winning. And you know what it takes to win. Sometimes it’s not going to be pretty; sometimes it’s going to be ugly, and sometimes, certain players have to step up, like a goalie or blocked shot or whatever it is.

“But when you have that experience, and you’ve been through it – especially twice – you can fall back on that. Now, the trick is to not get complacent, because you think it’s going to be easier, or you think it’s going to just happen again. It’s really hard to win, it’s really hard to win championships, and especially now; everyone’s got a target on our back, because they’re, playing us hard, especially in the first period.

“I think we’ve been able to take that experience, and there’s little battles throughout the game that you don’t necessarily think about when you’re doing skills during the summer. That’s definitely something that’s helped us.”

Lapierre is a good young player – and a very coachable one – who is still feeling his way through the League. We will certainly see better from him in the games and years ahead, but the Caps are also fortunate to have a steady organizational hand like Sgarbossa who can be summoned and installed into the lineup in a plug and play situation.

In The Nets – Tonight is Washington’s eighth game of the season, and its goaltending rotation continues for another night. Logan Thompson has started each of the Caps’ even-numbered games and he gets the net for the fourth time tonight.

Thompson is 3-0-0 in his first three starts with the Capitals, and he has fashioned a 3.28 GAA and an .894 save pct. in those games. Lifetime against the Rangers, he is 1-1-0 in a pair of starts with a 3.10 GAA and a .900 save pct.

Shesterkin starts for the Rangers tonight, his seventh starting assignment in nine New York games. He is 4-1-1 on the season to date, with a shutout, a 2.16 GAA and a .926 save pct. Lifetime against Washington, Shesterkin is 8-4-0 in a dozen appearances – all starts – with a 2.59 GAA and a .916 save pct.

All Lined Up – Here’s how we expect the Capitals and Rangers to look when they take the ice in the District on Tuesday night:

WASHINGTON

Forwards

21-Protas, 17-Strome, 8-Ovechkin

24-McMichael, 80-Dubois, 43-Wilson

13-Vrana 23-Sgarbossa, 88-Mangiapane

22-Duhaime, 26-Dowd, 16-T. Raddysh

Defensemen

6-Chychrun, 74-Carlson

42-Fehervary, 52-McIlrath

38-Sandin, 57-van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders

48-Thompson

79-Lindgren

Extras

15-Milano

27-Alexeyev

29-Lapierre

Out/Injured

3-Roy (lower body)

19-Backstrom (hip)

77-Oshie (back)

NEW YORK

Forwards

20-Kreider, 93-Zibanejad, 91-Smith

10-Panarin, 16-Trocheck, 13-Lafreniere

50-Cuylle, 72-Chytil, 24-Kakko

84-Edstrom, 39-Carrick, 73-Rempe

Defensemen

79-Miller, 23-Fox

55-Lindgren, 8-Trouba

4-Schneider, 90-Mancini

Goaltenders

31-Shesterkin

32-Quick

Extras

6-Jones

22-Brodzinski

Out/Injured

26-Vesey (lower body)