Free NHL Picks Today: New York Rangers vs Washington Capitals 12/27/22

The Washington Capitals (19-13-4) will be out to build on their winning streak when they travel to face the New York Rangers (19-11-5) at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday.

Washington is coming off a 4-1 win over the Jets on Friday, their fourth win in a row. The Capitals committed only two penalties in the game, holding Winnipeg without a power play goal. Alex Ovechkin led the Capitals with two goals.

Charlie Lindgren saved an impressive 25 of 26 shots (.961%) in the win. New York beat the Islanders 5-3 on Thursday. Five players found the net for the Rangers. Barclay Goodrow scored and provided two assists to lead the team in scoring. Igor Shesterkin only stopped 15 of 18 shots (.833%).

HEAD TO HEAD

The Rangers won two of the three games between the teams last season, including a 3-2 victory in their final meeting in April. Kaapo Kakko and Braden Schneider each had two points (0G 2A) to lead New York. Justin Schultz and John Carlson were on the scoresheet for Washington. Alexandar Georgiev got the win, saving 34 of 36 shots (.944%).

FACING OFF

Washington is averaging 3.08 goals per game for the season, 19th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Rangers team that is allowing 2.71 goals a game (7th). Meanwhile, New York has found the net 3.29 times a game on average, 11th in the league, and the Capitals are allowing opponents to score 2.78 goals per game (10th).

The Rangers’ 22.94% power play percentage ranks 15th in the league, while the Capitals are 20th with a conversion rate of 20.83%. When it comes to penalty killing, Washington has the league’s ninth-ranked PK% at 80.77%, while New York is 15th at 79.61%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 41 points this season, Ovechkin is the top skater for the Capitals. He is among the league leaders with 22 goals (8th) and has added 19 assists. In the net, Darcy Kuemper (9-9-2) is Washington’s top goaltender by goals against average.

He has a 2.53 GAA and a .916% save percentage.Artemi Panarin and Mika Zibanejad lead the Rangers in scoring with 41 and 38 points, respectively.

Panarin has nine goals and 32 assists (6th), while Zibanejad has 15 goals and 23 assists in 35 games. Shesterkin (17-5-4) is the top goalie for New York with a goals against average of 2.44. He has a save percentage of .916%.