Pre-Cap: Capitals vs. Rangers

It's a new era in New York, an era without some guy named Jaromir Jagr.

So who are we going to boo now?

Either way, the license plate to the left is hilarious despite the fact the Rangers lead the Atlantic Division. Crafty Islanders fans!

Time for your pre-Cap.

Washington Capitals (6-4-2, last game 3-2 win over Carolina)
vs.
New York Rangers (11-4-2, last game 5-2 win over Tampa)

The story so far...
The Cardiac Caps are back! At least for one game, and while the excitement from Thursday's game is sure to energize a near sold-out Verizon Center, we can only wonder which team will show up against the Eastern-Conference-leading Rangers. Once again, all eyes are on Brent Johnson, who makes his third straight start.

Key players
WSH: Alex Ovechkin, Alex Semin, Brent Johnson
NYR: Nikolai Zherdev, Markus Naslund, Scott Gomez

Controversy brewing between the pipes?
Tonight will be Brent Johnson's third consecutive start of the season. After two solid games, Johnson is more than making a case that he can handle the top goaltender duties, but the jury is still out on Theodore. Johnson enters tonight's game 1-0-0 against the Rangers but has two career games against them. Meaning he was yanked out of net in an earlier game. How great a story would it be if Johnson got his chance at a #1 spot, led the Caps to the Stanley Cup and joined his Hall-of-Fame grandpa Sid Abel in hockey glory?

Special team woes
The Capitals now rank 27th in the NHL on the power play. Too cute and too much, the Capitals only convert 14.8 percent of the time. Washington is middle of the pack on the penalty kill, sitting at 15th in the league.

Because we just can't get enough Johnson
Let's check out his house. Go get some Johnsonville brats for tonight's game.



The puck stops here
Tonight, the Capitals face world class goaltender Henrik Lundqvist, who hasn't give the Capitals much in terms of wins. He is 7-2-0-1 in his career against the Capitals with a 2.52 GAA. Alex Ovechkin, on the other hand, has been a consistent threat to the Rangers, scoring 13 points in 12 games.

Dancing queen
Sorry but that title was too hard to resist. Here's a video of Rangers goaltender Henrik Lundqvist throwing down some moves for Swedish TV.



Sloan is back!
Tyler Sloan was recalled for tonight's game following the injury suffered by Shaone Morrisonn. He scored a goal and a huge hit in his first few NHL games,;perhaps he can add to that by helping lead the Capitals to a shutout victory with solid defensive play.

Come for the funeral, stay for the second rounder...
The Rangers are looking to replace recently deceased prospect Alexei Cherepanov but are asking that they be compensated a draft pick because of his death. Check out the story here.

LET'S GO CAPS!