Coming off their first road loss in five games, and failing to record a point for the first time in 18 games, I expect the the Canucks (28-9-3) to suffer a letdown here against a determined home side:

Vancouver was lucky to sneak away with a 4-3 SO victory over the Islanders on Tuesday; that luck run out though last night as it was blanked 1-0 by a hungry Rangers team that had lost four-straight in the series.

Cory Schneider was in net for that game; Roberto Luongo will get the start tonight.

However he'll face a Capitals team (24-13-7) that's looking to avoid a fourth loss in its last five games; its last loss was a 3-0 shutout at Tampa Bay on Wednesday.

When the best team in the league comes to town, players, coaches and fans get excited; last night TY Lawson of the Denver Nuggets described how his team felt being able to face the red-hot Miami Heat; "I think everybody's been waiting for this game and had it circled," Lawson said. "We're ready for this game."

Denver went on to annihilate Miami 130-102.

While Washington wouldn't have had this game "circled", coach Bruce Boudreau is still excited to be going up against the front-runner for this year's Presidents' Trophy; "We're facing a juggernaut, there's no ifs ands about it," Boudreau said. "They've got strength right through their lineup and they're going to be a very difficult team to beat, but its a tremendous challenge for us. It's a great test - and we're looking forward to it."

Good line-value; home ice advantage; catching a team playing the second game of a back to back, and which is coming off its first loss in quite some time; desperate for a good showing against the leagues best, and to break out of a slide; there are overwhelming factors working in favor of the home side tonight.