The Caps have won 4 of the last 6 games between these teams straight up and 7 out of 9 of the games at home. Alex Ovechkin left his last preseason game early, but he was at an optional practice today for the Caps and “Russian Machine Never Breaks.” The Caps tied for the Metropolitan Division last season, but they went through their share of injuries and COVID to do it. They are finally healthy and have a reliable goaltender in Ilya Samsonov in net. The Rangers made many offseason moves to improve but I think it’ll take a few games of playing together with a new head coach to put it together. Take the Caps at home on opening night.