Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers Prediction: Alexander Ovechkin's Comeback

Prediction for the NHL Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers match will take place on February 25th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available. 

The Capitals hosted Anaheim on their ice in the first match after Alexander Ovechkin's return. They unexpectedly again failed to show anything decent in the attack — only two abandoned goals against one of the weakest teams of the season and a 2:4 defeat. Peter Laviolette's team scored only ten goals in 6 previous games.

In addition to Ovechkin's comeback on the ice and a series of defeats regarding Washington, it is worth noting the recent exchange of defender Dmitry Orlov and defensive forward Garnet Hathaway to Boston for forward Craig Smith and draft picks. Let's see if the appearance of an experienced and once-scoring striker can solve the Capitals' attacking problems.

On the eve of the match with Washington, New York lost three meetings in a row. Surprisingly, the team that started performing so powerfully after the appearance of Vladimir Tarasenko scored only four goals in these three games. The Rangers lost to Calgary (2:3 in OT) and 1-4 to Winnipeg and Detroit. Head coach Gerard Gallant even reshuffled, placing Panarin and Tarasenko with Vincent Trocheck and returning Kreider and Vesey to Mika Zibanejad. It has yet to help. However, the Rangers have a solid margin in the playoff zone and may continue experimenting with the roster.

Washington has been looking very weak lately and, above all, needs to improve in attack. But after all, the Rangers still need to score almost anything for three games. Against the Rangers in recent seasons, the Capitals have excellent home statistics. It is precisely the opponent in the confrontation with which Peter Laviolette's team can break a series of failures. Moreover, Alexander Ovechkin returned, and the Russian will undoubtedly spend the second game after the comeback stronger than the first one, correcting the team's attacking game. The Capitals' defense is pretty good as it is.