The New York Rangers will have to find a way to shut down the Gr8 Chase tonight, as the team takes on the Washington Capitals tonight. The Capitals under Spencer Carberry are a complete surprise, being 1st in the Metropolitan Division.![Peter Laviolette]()
The New York Rangers will have to contend with Alex Ovechkin who only three days ago is 11 goals from breaking Wayne Gretzky's record.
It's an ongoing discussion in the NHL, as Ovechkin could find himself contributing a few more goals to the record tonight if the Rangers aren't focused on shutting him down.
Alex Ovechkin of the Washington Capitals scored his 884th NHL goal on Saturday against the Tampa Bay Lightning, moving him within 11 goals of breaking Wayne Gretzky's record of 894. After failing to score against the Ottawa Senators on Monday, Ovechkin will continue his pursuit of Gretzky on Wednesday against the New York Rangers (7:30 p.m. ET; MAX, truTV, TNT, MSG). As Ovechkin closes in on the record, we'll detail each goal he scores along with the corresponding goal from Gretzky. Here is the latest:
This is exactly how Head Coach Peter Laviolette addressed the topic today.
The Rangers need to focus purely on game discipline, and defense as they will have to contend with multiple lethal weapons on the Capitals roster.
Including Pierre-Luc Dubois, Dylan Strome, Alex Ovechkin, Jakob Chychrun, and Connor McMichael.
The Rangers are 5th in the Metropolitan Division, with a record of 31-26-4, and will need to earn every point in this next stretch of games to hold their playoff spot.
Those are hard to come by, considering the Detroit Red Wings lost theirs after a thumping by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Laviolette is right, focus on the game and don't let Ovechkin have any control of the ice.
Shut him down.
