Pre-Game Notes

The Washington Capitals play the second of a five game homestand tonight as they host the New York Rangers.

The Capitals won their first game of the homestand Thursday night, 5-4, over the Tampa Bay Lightning. This is the fourth and final meeting of the season between the Caps and Rangers as the Caps currently hold a 2-1-0 record through the first three games.

The Rangers won their last visit to Verizon Center, 4-3, on October 8 on two third period goals by Marian Gaborik.

Since trading for Ollie Jokinen before the Olympic Break, the Rangers have scored fewer then three goals just once in their last seven games. They scored five agains the Capitals in their last meeting, a 6-5 Capitals win on February 4 at Madison Square Garden.

It will be interesting to see who Bruce Boudreau decides to scratch tonight after scratching David Steckel, Matt Bradley, John Erskine and Tyler Sloan on Thursday. My guess is they will be scratched again tonight as Boudreau continues to figure out who he wants his regulars to be as the Caps near the start of the playoffs.

Here are the expected lines for tonight's contest:

Ovechkin-Backstrom-Knuble
Laich-Morrison-Semin
Fleischmann-Belanger-Fehr
Chimera-Gordon-Walker

The 'D' pairs, meantime, will feature three lefties and three righties:
Schultz-Green
Poti-Corvo
Morrisonn-Carlson

Here are a few more notes to keep in mind as you watch tonights game:

Home run – Washington, 24-3-3 at home, has a club-record 12 straight wins. It’s one game shy of tying the franchise record for longest home unbeaten streak and it’s tied for the third-longest home winning streak in the NHL since 1994-95. The Capitals haven’t lost at home in the new year, since a Dec. 28 loss to Carolina, and are 74-20-9 at home under head coach Bruce Boudreau.
Longest Home Winning Streaks of the Last 15 Years
14 – Boston, 10/25/08 – 1/1/09
13 – Detroit, 12/20/06 – 2/21/07
12 – Washington, 1/5/10 – 3/4/10
12 – Two other times by Detroit, both in 1995-96
FIVE MORE NOTES NO MEDIA PERSON SHOULD BE WITHOUT
Green machine – NHL defensemen have combined for eight point streaks of seven games or more this season. Four of those streaks – including the three longest – belong to Mike Green. Green has points in each of the last nine games he has played (3g-10a), including seven straight since serving a suspension. He hasn’t gone three straight games without a point all year.
Green leads all NHL defensemen in goals (15), assists (48) and points (63). His +31 rating is second among all NHL defensemen, trailing only teammate Jeff Schultz (+39). Green has joined Sergei Gonchar, Nicklas Lidstrom and Scott Niedermayer as the only defensemen with two 60-point seasons since the 2004-05 work stoppage.
Walker runs – Newly acquired Scott Walker scored two goals in the third period Thursday night, the first Capital since Alex Ovechkin to score twice in his debut for the team. Walker had three goals in 33 games prior to the trade.
History in the making – With 18 games left in the season, the Capitals already have the eighth-most points (94) in their history and seventh-most wins (43).
K Street – Mike Knuble has 15 goals in the last 18 games and 18 goals in the last 22 games. He is enjoying his seventh consecutive 20-goal season – joining Ilya Kovalchuk, Jarome Iginla and Martin St. Louis as the only players with 20-plus goals in each of those seasons. With 25 goals – despite missing 12 games with a broken finger – Knuble, at 37, leads all players 33 and older in goals. He leads the NHL with a 22.3% shooting percentage.
Goal oriented – The Capitals lead the NHL with 251 goals, 47 more (or 23% more) than the next-closest team (not counting shootout “goals” reflected in the standings). It’s the largest gap between the top two offensive teams since 1992-93, when Detroit led the league in scoring by 50 goals.
Washington leads the league in goals per game (3.92), even-strength goals (185), power-play goals (63), home goals (122), road goals (129), first-period goals (73), second-period goals (83, tied) and third-period goals (92). Even if you take away their league-leading power play, the Caps would still rank tied for sixth in the league with 188 goals. At their current pace the Capitals would finish as the highest scoring team since the 1995-96 Pittsburgh Penguins.