Gameday: vs. NY Rangers, Jan. 24

Braden Holtby will make his 3rd consecutive start tonight.

The Washington Capitals return home this evening after a three game road swing to take on the New York Rangers at Verizon Center.  The Rangers sit in 7th place in the Eastern Conference, coming into the game tonight with 59 points, and the Caps sit in 5th place with 62 points.  This is the third meeting of the two teams on the season, with the previous two coming at Madison Square Garden.  The season series has been split so far, with both teams taking home multiple goal decisions: the Caps 5-3 and the Rangers 7-0.  The Blueshirts are coming off of a 3-2 shootout win in Atlanta, while the Capitals are coming off of their 4-1 win in Toronto on Saturday night.

John Tortorella has elected to give star netminder Henrik Lundqvist the night off in goal due to the Rangers' recent heavy schedule, meaning that the Caps will face Martin Biron for the first time this season.  While Biron is no slouch, not having to face the red-hot Lundqvist is certainly a break for the Capitals.  Rangers defenseman Daniel Girardi is also expected to miss the game, which should ease the Capitals' attack.

Braden Holtby will make the start in nets for the Capitals tonight after two stellar performances in a row.  Holtby has only allowed two goals in two games since his call up and has stopped 59 shots in those contests, good for a .967 save percentage.  He has never faced the Rangers in his career.

No lineup changes are expected for Bruce Boudreau's men, which means that Brian Fahey will once again be a healthy scratch.  All the injured Caps except Eric Fehr skated this morning, which means that Michal Neuvirth, Alex Semin, Matt Bradley, and Tom Poti are making progress towards their returns.  Although they skated, Boudreau does not expect any of them to see game action until soon after the All-Star Break.

Puck drops for this one 7:37-ish.  Check back after the game.