Game information/links

Date

Sunday, April 5, 2026

Venue

Madison Square Garden

Game preview

Don’t look now, but it’s another regular-season Game 7! Tonight, the Washington Capitals are in Madison Square Garden to take on the New York Rangers in another must-win game.

“We know our backs are against the wall here,” Connor McMichael said after Saturday’s emphatic 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. “It seems like we’ve got to run the table, and that’s what we’re prepared to do.”

The Cockroach Caps, as termed by Brandon Duhaime, will look to stay alive against a Rangers team that is clicking currently. They’ve won four of their last five games. Rookie Gabe Perreault recorded his first NHL hat trick last night in a 4-1 win over the Detroit Red Wings.

The Capitals will field the same lineup, but there will be one major change. After 10 straight starts, Logan Thompson will sit and yield the net to backup Charlie Lindgren. The Outlaw, who has not started since a huge road win over the Sabres on March 12 (29 saves), has a 9-7-3 record this season with a 3.29 goals-against average, a .886 save percentage, and one shutout.

The 32-year-old backstop has been nearly unbeatable against the Rangers in the past, winning five of six games and posting a 1.49 goals-against average, a .946 save percentage, and two shutouts. He has already beaten them twice this season, too, including a 35-save shutout on October 12.

At the other side of the ice, Igor Shesterkin will get the start for the Rangers.

While Washington needs a win, they’ve already gotten more help from teams in front of them as the Detroit Red Wings lost 5-4 in regulation to the Minnesota Wild earlier in the day. The Capitals would leap over them with a victory. Depending on the results of the games featuring Philadelphia and Ottawa tonight, it’s possible the Caps could end up in the second wild-card spot with two points against NYR.

The stakes are HUGE.

Tonight’s game is on national television airing on ESPN. The action will also be animated and simulcast on Disney+ and ESPN+ for the Inside Out Classic. Read more here.

Goalie matchup

Stats

.886

.912

-1.0

+21.5

Record

9-7-3

24-17-6

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