Morning Skate: Saturday, 1/3

Today’s Slate:
Sabres @ Bruins, 1:00 ET
Panthers @ Penguins, 1:00
Flames @ Predators, 3:00
Senators @ Maple Leafs, 7:00
Rangers @ Capitals, 7:00
Hurricanes @ Lightning, 7:30
Red Wings @ Wild, 8:00
Blue Jackets @ Blues, 8:30
Stars @ Oilers, 10:00
Flyers @ Kings, 10:30
Islanders @ Sharks, 10:30

Game of the Day:
New York Rangers (23-13-3) @ Washington Capitals (25-11-3)
7:00 ET… TV: Local Networks

Players to watch:
NYR- Markus Naslund
Naslund has been inconsistent this season, and needs to get on track tonight.
WSH- Nicklas Backstrom
Backstrom has 16 assists in the last 12 games… call him the ‘dish-master’.

Projected Goaltenders:
NYR- Henrik Lundqvist (08-09 stats: 19-11-3, 2.67 GAA)
WSH- Jose Theodore (08-09 stats: 12-6-1, 3.08 GAA)

Injury Report:
NYR- None
WSH- Alexander Semin (back, out), Sergei Fedorov (ankle, out), Donald Brashear (leg, questionable), Tomas Fleischmann (illness, questionable), John Erskine (concussion, out), Brian Pothier (concussion, out), Tom Poti (groin, out)

Last Ten Games:
Rangers (5-4-1) … Capitals (9-1-0)

Season Series:
2-0 Capitals

Game Thoughts:
The last time these two met, the Caps scored 5 unanswered goals to beat New York 5-4 in overtime. The Rangers will have revenge on their minds, but will that be enough to top the red-hot Capitals?? Theodore is coming around, and Washington is the hottest team in the NHL besides the Bruins. I like the Capitals to win tonight, but King Henrik will keep it close.

Prediction: Capitals 4, Rangers 3
The rest of tonight’s predictions:
Bruins over Sabres
Penguins over Panthers
Flames over Predators
Maple Leafs over Senators
Lightning over Hurricanes
Red Wings over Wild
Blue Jackets over Blues
Oilers over Stars
Flyers over Kings
Sharks over Islanders