Free NHL Picks Today: New York Rangers vs Washington Capitals 3/14/23

The Washington Capitals (32-28-7) are on the road to take on the New York Rangers (37-19-10) at Madison Square Garden on Tuesday. Washington is coming off a 5-1 win over the Islanders on Saturday. The Capitals committed five penalties in the game, though they held the Islanders without a power play goal.

Five players found the net for the Capitals. Rasmus Sandin had three assists to lead the team in scoring. Darcy Kuemper saved an impressive 17 of 18 shots (.944%) in the win.

New York is playing the first of five games at home after a 3-2 overtime loss against the Penguins on Sunday. Barclay Goodrow and Chris Kreider each scored once for the Rangers. Jaroslav Halak had 32 saves in the loss.

HEAD TO HEAD

The Capitals have won both games between the teams this season, including a 6-3 victory in their most recent meeting in February. Evgeny Kuznetsov led Washington with four points (2G 2A). Kreider (1G 1A) and Mika Zibanejad (0G 2A) each had two points to lead New York. Kuemper got the win despite saving only 23 of 26 shots (.884%).

FACING OFF

Washington is averaging 3.09 goals per game for the season, 19th in the NHL, and they are taking on a Rangers team that is allowing 2.79 goals a game (10th). Meanwhile, New York has found the net 3.23 times a game on average, 14th in the league, and the Capitals are allowing opponents to score 2.94 goals per game (13th).

The Rangers’ 22.77% power play percentage ranks ninth in the league, while the Capitals are 19th with a conversion rate of 20.49%. When it comes to penalty killing, Washington has the league’s sixth-ranked PK% at 82.89%, while New York is 18th at 78.72%.

TOP PERFORMERS:

With 62 points this season, Alex Ovechkin is the top skater for the Capitals. He is among the league leaders with 36 goals (9th) and has added 26 assists. In the net, Kuemper (20-20-5) is Washington’s top goaltender by goals against average.

He has a 2.71 GAA and a .912% save percentage. Artemi Panarin and Zibanejad lead the Rangers in scoring with 73 and 68 points, respectively.

Panarin has 20 goals and 53 assists (8th), while Zibanejad has 32 goals and 36 assists in 66 games. Igor Shesterkin (29-11-7) is the top goalie for New York with a goals against average of 2.63. He has a save percentage of .910%.