Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers Prediction: They joined the Cup campaign in very different moods

Prediction for the NHL Washington Capitals vs New York Rangers match which will take place on April 29th. Who will turn out to be stronger? Check the team conditions! Several betting options are available.

Washington was on the verge of a season that could be considered a success for the club. A year earlier, the Capitals had missed out on the playoffs altogether, with their already aging leadership a year older, Nicklas Bäckström calling time on his career, and Evgeny Kuznetsov, Anthony Mantha, and Joel Edmundson all leaving during the regular season. It seemed that such global personnel losses would not allow Spencer Carbery's charges to return to Cup contention, but they had a great final stretch of the regular season to grab the final playoff spot. Unfortunately, they lost to the Rangers 1:4, 3:4, and 1:3 in the Eastern Conference.

The Rangers are in their first season under Peter Laviolette. The coach hasn't had much time to settle into his new role. From the start of the regular season, his charges played very high, leading the Eastern Conference for most of the campaign and winning the President's Trophy for the best regular season team in the league. The series against Washington has gone well for the New Yorkers, with the Capitals beating 4:1, 4:3, and 3:1 in the first three games to move one step closer to the second round.

Washington and the Rangers joined the Cup campaign in very different moods. At the end of the regular season, the Capitals were working hard to secure the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. Solving that problem took a lot of energy and emotion, so they simply didn't have time to recharge for the playoffs. At the same time, they have already secured a top-eight finish, so they have been systematically preparing for the start of the elimination round.

The recent clash between Washington and Rangers has been characterized by a lack of goalscoring activity. During the regular season, the rivals began to play a pragmatic, closed game, and the situation has only worsened with the start of the Cup campaign. In all, the teams have met seven times this season and have combined for just 34 shots on goal (an average of 4.86 per game) - a very modest total by NHL standards.