The Presidents' Trophy winners, the New York Rangers, will travel to Washington, D.C., to face the Washington Capitals at the Capital One Arena. The puck is scheduled to drop at 7:00 PM ET on Friday evening and will air on TNT, MAX, Monumental Sports Network, Tru TV, and MSG.
The New York Rangers finished the regular season with the best record in the NHL at 55-23-4 and 114 points, which led to the Rangers winning the 2024 Presidents' Trophy, winning both games at home in the first-round series against the Washington Capitals, and winning four straight games by an average margin of 2 goals per game.
The Rangers have been one of the highest-scoring teams in the league, ranking 6th in scoring with an average of 3.45 goals per game. They have one of the best depths at Centre in the NHL, and Zibanejad and Trocheck have both scored a goal in the series against the Capitals.
New York has won three straight games in the series against the Capitals and four of the six games in the series this season while winning by an average margin of .67 goals per game in those contests.
The New York Rangers will look to extend their winning streak in the series to four games and take a commanding 3-0 series lead when they travel to face the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the series.
The Washington Capitals squeaked into the playoffs as the 8-seed in the Eastern Conference. However, they entered the series against the Rangers in the first round of the Eastern Conference in the 2024 Stanley Cup Playoffs, having won three straight games and four of their previous four.
However, they lost both games against the Rangers to start the series following Tuesday's 3-4 loss on the road in Game 2 of the series.
Washington scored the first goal in Game 2. However, they allowed four of the next five goals before losing Game 2. The Capitals have also lost three straight games against the Rangers and four of the six meetings this season.
However, they won both meetings at home this season and won by an average margin of 2.5 goals per game at home this season. The Washington Capitals will look to improve their home record against the New York Rangers to 3-0 this season when they host the Rangers for Game 3 of the series on Friday evening.
WagerWeb has the New York Rangers listed as -167 moneyline favorites on the road against the Washington Capitals for Game 3 of the series on Friday evening. New York has won six of the last ten including four of the six meetings this season while having won by an average margin of .67 goals per game this season and .2 goals per game over the previous three games in the series.
However, Washington has won five of the last six games at home in the series including both meetings this season.
New York finished with the best record in the NHL while Washington just squeaked into the playoffs. The Rangers have won both games to start the playoff series and four of the six games this season. However, Washington has dominated the series at home, winning five of the previous six games which is why I am taking the moneyline for the Washington Capitals when they host the New York Rangers for Game 3 of the series on Friday evening.
