The NHL playoffs roll on as a pair of teams from the Metropolitan Division do battle as the venue shifts to Capital One Arena. The top-seeded New York Rangers are on the road to play Game 3 of their best-of-seven series with the fourth-seeded Washington Capitals on Thursday night.
The Presidents' Trophy-winning Rangers, aiming for their first Stanley Cup championship in 30 years, beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday night to hold home-ice advantage and hold a 2-0 advantage.
The Capitals have their backs against the wall and now have to win four of the next five games to keep their season alive.
Will the Capitals find a way to get back in the series or will the Rangers take a commanding 3-0 lead?
Here, GOAL brings you all the information you need to know about this NHL match, including how to watch, team news, key results and head-to-head results.
Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers: Date & Puck-Drop time
| Date | Friday, April 26, 2024 |
| Time | 7:00 pm ET/ 4:00 pm PT |
| Arena | Capital One Arena |
| Location | Washington D.C, USA |
The Stanley Cup Playoff Round 1 Game 3 between the New York Rangers and Washington Capitals takes place at the Capital One Arena in Washington DC, USA on Friday, April 26, 2024. The game will begin at 7:00 pm ET/ 4:00 pm PT.
How to watch the Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers NHL Game on TV & stream live online
The Washington Capitals vs. New York Rangers NHL fixture will be broadcast live nationally on TNT/truTV.
Fans without access to these channels can stream the match through the streaming service Max.
Plans for Max start at under $10 a month. Max With Ads is available for $9.99/month($99.99/year), and ad-free plans are priced at $15.99/month ($149.99/year) or $19.99/month ($199.99/year).
Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers Team News & Key Leaders
Washington Capitals
Washington could make at least one roster change Friday, with rookie Ivan Miroshnichenko likely to come in the fourth line to replace Nicolas Aube-Kubel. The 20-year-old has produced six points in 21 games with the Capitals this season.
Sonny Milano missed practice on Thursday for a rest day, but on the blue line, the Capitals remain short-handed. Rasmus Sandin and Nick Jensen skated again in non-contact jerseys, with no update on their status at the time of writing.
Vincent Iorio is expected to miss his second game with an upper-body issue.
New York Rangers
New York won Game 2 thanks to timely scoring and clutch saves. After going behind 1-0, Vincent Trocheck knotted the game at 7:56 with his first postseason goal, assisted by Erik Gustafsson. At 14:18, Mika Zibanejad scored his first goal of the season on the power play, giving the Rangers a 2-1 lead.
After Washington tied the score, Jack Roslovic gave the Rangers a 3-2 advantage, again on the power play, at 12:26 via assists from Gustafsson and Lafreniere. K’Andre Miller then made it a 4-2 game at 16:52 with assists going to Zibanejad and Chris Kreider.
Rangers goaltender Igor Shesterkin made 22 saves as the team outshot the opposition 28-25. He's likely to be in between the pipes again here.
Roster-wise, the major news from Thursday's practice was Filip Chytil skating in the third-line centre role, replacing Alexander Wennberg, whose absence was described as "maintenance" by head coach Peter Laviolette. However, after being out since early November due to a head injury, Chytil participated fully in practice and is on the plane to Washington, so he might be called up for Game 3.
Head-to-Head Record
New York leads the series 5-4, and the Rangers own a 29-28 upper hand in head-to-head playoff games. The Rangers have won the past three meetings between the two sides in seven games, including the 2015 Eastern Conference playoffs.
| Date | Match | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| 04/23/24 | New York Rangers 4-3 Washington Capitals | NHL |
| 04/21/24 | New York Rangers 4-1 Washington Capitals | NHL |
| 01/14/24 | New York Rangers 2-1 Washington Capitals | NHL |
| 01/13/24 | Washington Capitals 3-2 New York Rangers | NHL |
| 12/28/23 | New York Rangers 5-1 Washington Capitals | NHL |