Caps goalie Braden Holtby stops Erik Condra. He brings a 7-0-2 mark into tonight’s showdown with the Rangers.
AP Photo by Alex Brandon/Getty Images

While the Rangers have been busy playing their best hockey, so too are Tuesday’s opponent at MSG. The Caps held up their end of the bargain winning their third straight with a 2-1 home win over the Sens. They enter the big match two points ahead for third place in the Metropolitan Division.

Washington has played two more games and are up to 40 points. The Rangers have 38 and are winners of six straight. Something has to give. During the winning streak, they’ve outscored opponents 20-8. The duo of Henrik Lundqvist and Cam Talbot have been busy stopping pucks. They’re getting help from a defense that’s finally in sync. Ryan McDonagh’s return has coincided with the team’s improvement. That’s taken pressure off Dan Girardi and Marc Staal while Kevin Klein continues a special season. At this point, Matt Hunwick is ahead of John Moore. If Dan Boyle starts contributing, that would be nice.

The Caps won due largely to the play of Braden Holtby. The number one goalie has been hot of late. During the team’s 7-0-2 run, he’s been in for every start. He made 38 saves including 14 in a busy first along with 15 in a hectic third to preserve the win. Since his performance against us in 2012, he’s been up and down. But under new coach Barry Trotz, he’s flourishing. Over his last nine starts, Holtby has won seven of nine posting a 1.74 goals-against-average with a .940 save percentage and one shutout. When he sees over 30 shots during that stretch, he’s a perfect 4-0-0.

Interestingly, Alex Ovechkin doesn’t lead the Caps in scoring. That honor belongs to top center Nicklas Backstrom who got the winner on the power play. After a disappointing ’13-14, he’s responded with better play with and without the puck. Including Monday night, Backstrom has 11 goals while pacing Washington in assists (24), points (35), power play points (1-14-15) and dominating on faceoffs (361-and-296). Of course, Ovechkin still paces the club in goals (15), power play goals (6), game-winners (4) and a league-leading 157 shots-on-goal. He’s also still making highlight reels as Devil blogger Hasan can attest.

John Carlson has become their best defenseman. He already was but now he’s added offense. Entering last night, Carlson was tied for fifth among defensemen in scoring with 24 points (4-20-24) and was a solid plus-12. If he continues to perform, Carlson could get Norris consideration against heavy favorite Mark Giordano with Kevin Shattenkirk joining the conversation. His highest point total is 37 accomplished twice including last season when he notched a career best 10 goals. Somewhat astonishingly, the Caps stole him with the 27th overall pick in 2008. The Rangers took Michael Del Zotto 20th overall.

The Caps boast secondary scoring with power forward Troy Brouwer, Ranger killer Joel Ward, playmaker Marcus Johansson and Russian rookie Evgeny Kuznetzov. They have good depth with talented Andre Burakovsky a healthy scratch last night. Vets Eric Fehr, Brooks Laich, Jay Beagle and Jason Chimera are solid. Youngster Tom Wilson is a bruiser who’ll take on anyone.

Defensively, Carlson anchors a blueline that now features former Pen Brooks Orpik. The vet isn’t the fastest skater which makes him a target for Rangers speedsters Rick Nash, Derick Brassard and Mats Zuccarello. Especially if Alain Vigneault gets the match-up. They should attack his side. Mike Green remains a rover who can bomb away. Curiously, he only has four points on the power play. But he’s also missed time for his usual assortment of injuries. The Caps also brought in Matt Niskanen to solidify the top four. While he hasn’t produced like with Pittsburgh, he’s certainly capable. Karl Alzner is a decent number five. Ex-Isle Jack Hillen rotates with Nate Schmidt.

As usual, the Caps rank near the top in power play. They’re right behind St. Louis clicking at over 25 percent. The Rangers know they must stay disciplined. Their penalty kill has gotten better climbing up to 13th at 82.3 percent. The dangerous combo of Nash and Derek Stepan is fun to watch. Meanwhile, the Caps are near the bottom around 77 percent. If our power play can ever take advantage, maybe it comes tonight. But we are talking about the power play (15.3 percent).

They should have an edge with the Caps playing the second of a back-to-back. It’ll still be a step up in competition. We’ll see if they’re up to the challenge and can make it a Lucky 7.