It must not have been a fun plane ride home for the Rangers yesterday. Thanks, in part, to a horrible Rick Nash goal allowed by Henrik Lundqvist and the Rangers inability to bury their chances; the Rangers lost a very winnable game to the Columbus Blue Jackets on Saturday.
But the Rangers, who are an astounding 7-0 in the second games of back to backs, will have a tough opponent on their hands with the Capitals. The Capitals (who have lost five straight) will probably be itching for a big win against the Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
The power play, which scored a goal yesterday but was otherwise completely ineffective, will need to be kicking tonight if the Rangers want any chance at beating the Capitals. The penalty kill -- which to be fair, has been much better than the power play -- will also have to be prepared to take on one of the better offensive teams in the league.
Hopefully Michael Del Zotto builds on last night's overall impressive game, he hit the post and did some really good things on the power play last night. Let's also hope that Marc Staal and Dan Girardi are prepared for Alexander Ovechkin and his Capitals offense.
It should be a good test for the Rangers tonight, both in the team they play, and their ability to bounce back after a tough loss.