Neuvirth a late starter against Rangers

--Why did 23-year-old backup goaltender Czech Michal Neuvirth start over veteran Tomas Vokoun in New York on Sunday? According to Neuvirth, Vokoun woke up feeling ill on Sunday morning in New York and did not feel well enough in pre-game warmups to play. Neuvirth is now 0-2 against the Rangers this season, allowing nine goals.

--The Capitals invited players' fathers, brothers and mentors on the weekend trip to New York. Thirteen dads made the trip. Troy Brouwer's father, Don, is unable to fly after suffering a blood clot in his brain in 2010, so his father-in-law, Eugene Diekrager, made the trip. Joel Ward and Mike Knuble lost their fathers as teenagers. Ward was joined by his former Owen Sound billet father Rodger Minard and Knuble was joined by his brother, Steve. In five years of having the fathers' trip, the Capitals are now 7-2-0.

--The Capitals are now 2-3-1 in their last six games. They fell to 10-5-2 in their last 17 regular-season games against the Rangers and slipped to 4-2-1 in their last seven games at Madison Square Garden.

QUOTE TO NOTE
"I always hated that door creaking when they closed the penalty box on me." -- Dale Hunter, on his memories of playing in Madison Square Garden.

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