Winners of two straight, the New York Rangers take a step up in class when they host the Washington Capitals at Madison Square Garden on Sunday night.
That’s taking nothing away from their first two victories of the season, including a 6-1 thrashing of the Pittsburgh Penguins on Saturday. But the Penguins and Buffalo Sabres — whom the Rangers defeated on the road Thursday — aren’t considered playoff contenders this season. In fact, the Penguins missed the postseason three straight years and the Sabres haven’t been in the Stanley Cup Playoffs since 2011.
The Capitals, on the other hand, finished first in the Metropolitan Division and Eastern Conference last season.