The Washington Capitals (20-14-5) close the year 2025 at home in D.C. They will host the New York Rangers (19-17-5) at Capital One Arena on Wednesday afternoon.
The puck drops at 12:30 p.m. ET.
This matinee matchup is the front end of a midweek afternoon back-to-back for the Capitals. They will then kick off 2026 by visiting Ottawa on Thursday.
The Capitals previously hosted the Rangers right before the holiday break, and now they meet again on New Year’s Eve. Back on Dec. 23, the Capitals held a 3-2 lead heading into the third period, only to completely collapse for a 7-3 loss.
The Capitals’ previous game in Florida on Monday had a similar result, where they led 3-2 to begin the final period, but lost 5-3. Brad Marchand tied the game up at 3-3, while Aaron Ekblad scored the game-winner.
The Capitals won their first two games of December to extend their winning streak to six games at the time. However, they have struggled to win consecutive games since.
The Capitals enter New Year’s Eve with a 5-5-3 record in the month of December. Wednesday’s game against the Rangers will determine if they finish above or below .500 right before 2026 begins.
As for the Rangers, they have struggled since beating the Capitals a day before Christmas Eve. They were shut out by the Islanders 2-0 on Saturday, and fell to Carolina 3-2 in OT on Monday.
Wednesday’s game is the last of a five-game road trip for the Rangers, who have gone 1-2-1 during the stretch.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Alex Ovechkin
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Ryan Leonard – Nic Dowd – Ethen Frank
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Anthony Beauvillier
Defensemen
Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalie
Charlie Lindgren
Expected Rangers Lines
Forwards
Artemi Panarin – Mika Zibanejad – Alexis Lafreniere
Gabe Perreault – Vincent Trocheck – Will Cuylle
Conor Sheary – Noah Laba – Taylor Raddysh
Jonny Brodzinski – Sam Carrick – Matt Rempe
Defensemen
Vladislav Gavrikov – Adam Fox
Carson Soucy – Will Borgen
Matthew Robertson – Braden Schneider
Goalie
Igor Shesterkin
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
