Washington goes into another must-win showdown at home against the New York Rangers.
WASHINGTON -- With each point vital down the stretch, the Washington Capitals enter Sunday's game looking to get a win against the New York Rangers; and what's already a tall task becomes even harder as the team deals with key absences.
Here's everything to know ahead of puck drop.
Capitals vs. Rangers: Injury Notes
Washington will be without T.J. Oshie and Trevor van Riemsdyk, as both are dealing with upper-body injuries. Oshie is day-to-day, and van Riemsdyk is expected to be out for at least a week.
On the bright side, Sonny Milano will be back in after missing the last three games with an upper-body ailment. With Milano back, the team has 12 healthy forwards and six healthy defensemen ready to go.
However, things are interesting on the goaltending front, as Charlie Lindgren is unable to back up due to a non-COVID illness. Darcy Kuemper will start, but behind him is Harvard's Mitchell Gibson. The 23-year-old signed an amateur tryout to dress for Sunday, and is expected to sign an entry-level deal at a later date.
Capitals vs. Rangers: Lines
Here are the lines for Sunday's tilt:
Alex Ovechkin-Dylan Strome-Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano-Nicklas Backstrom-Aliaksei Protas
Conor Sheary-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Craig Smith
Anthony Mantha-Nic Dowd-Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary-John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin-Nick Jensen
Alex Alexeyev-Matt Irwin
Capitals vs. Rangers: Key Stats
Here's how each team stacks up going into Sunday:
Washington: 3.11 goals per game (20th), 2.08 goals-against per game (15th), 21.6 power-play percentage (13th), 82.7 penalty-kill percentage (5th)
New York: 3.32 goals per game (12th), 2.67 goals-against per game (4th), 22.8 power-play percentage (10th), 80.7 penalty-kill percentage (13th).