The Rangers are banged-up, in a scoring slump and drawing the Capitals, who are likely to be reinforced with Alex Ovechkin and John Carlson returning from injuries. Those are the Capitals' two best players. Their return makes this even more of a bad matchup for the Rangers, who are not a physical team. 

New York has surrendered 3 or more goals in seven of its last nine games. The Capitals are the second-highest scoring team in the NHL at 3.4 goals per game. 

The Rangers have been shut out in their last two games. They have been down multiple players, including Chris Kreider, Brett Howden, Ryan LIndgren and Jacob Trouba.