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Game Preview: Capitals Take on Islanders in a Battle for First Place

By Michael Marzzacco

WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 26: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Capital One Arena on February 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC - FEBRUARY 26: T.J. Oshie #77 of the Washington Capitals celebrates his goal against the Ottawa Senators during the second period at Capital One Arena on February 26, 2019 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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The Washington Capitals will take the ice Friday night in Long Island for their biggest game since June 7th. On a road to get back to that same promised land, the Capitals are in the midst of an important home stretch with several tough matchups. That begins Friday night back at the good old Nassau Coliseum (now called NYCB Live). Remember that place, Capitals fans? That’s the first time the’ve played there since the 2015 playoffs. Here is our game preview.

Back then, it was the first year of the Barry Trotz era. The Capitals defeated the Islanders in seven games thanks to Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Now Trotz is coaching in the island and they’re the team sitting in first place entering Friday night’s heavyweight bout. On Thursday night, to the delight of their fans, they blew out John Tavares and the Toronto Maple Leafs by a final of 6-1. The Islanders carry  a 37-19-7 record, good for 81 points.

The Capitals meanwhile are right behind them at 36-21-7, 79 points. After ending their long six-game road trip with a dud in Buffalo, the Capitals came home and won two in a row. First they defeated the Rangers on an overtime goal from Kuznetsov. Then they defeated the Senators with seven unanswered goals after trailing 2-0.

Friday’s game is the third meeting between the two teams this season. Washington won the first meeting back on Nov. 26 in Brooklyn 4-1. The Islanders would get payback in Barry Trotz’s return to the District with a 2-0 shutout at Capital One Arena.

PLAYER PREVIEW: Key Matchup

Evgeny Kuznetsov vs. Mathew Barzal

In this battle of the centers matchup (considering Evgeny Kuznetsov gets placed on the top line again), these two are playmakers for their teams. Mathew Barzal had an assist in the Islanders 6-1 win over the Maple Leafs on Thursday night. He leads the team with 17 goals 35 assists for 52 points and has been one of the biggest leaders on Trotz’s Islanders.

Evgeny Kuznetsov has turned it on lately, showing flashes of what he did last spring to help lead the Capitals to the Stanley Cup. On their quest to repeat, they need Kuznetsov flapping his bird wings as much as possible.

Kuznetsov had a goal and an assist in Tuesday night’s win over the Ottawa Senators. He also scored the game-winning goal in overtime in Sunday’s win over that other New York team, the Rangers. After a six-game scoreless drought, Kuznetsov has scored a goal in his last two games. He now has 17 goals and 41 assists on the season (58 points) and is heating up at the right time. The Capitals will need another big game from Kuznetsov if they want to come away from Long Island with a win.

CAPS FACTS (via Game Notes)

  • The Capitals hold a 108-89-13-6 record against the Islanders.
  • John Carlson is entering tonight’s game against the New York Islanders after recording his 10th goal of the season against the Senators on Tuesday. He has now reached a double digit goal total in consecutive seasons for the second time in his career (2013-14: 10 goals, 2014-15: 12 goals) becoming the ninth defenseman in the NHL to reach that mark in the last two seasons.
  • Alex Ovechkin has scored five goals in his last seven games and is currently on a seven game point streak (6 goals, 4 assists). He collected two assists in the Capitals 7-2 win over Ottawa on Tuesday. He is now just four points shy of becoming the 48th player in NHL history to record 1,200 points (651 goals, 545 assists).
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