Washington Capitals: Top 3 key players to watch against Isles
Tonight was supposed to be Opening Day for baseball in the Nation’s Capital. Instead, the game got postponed. But have no fear! The Washington Capitals are still playing tonight in a big game against the New York Islanders.
Tonight’s game is a battle for first place in the MassMutual East Division. The Caps have a two point edge over the Islanders and have won all three meetings between the teams this season. They’ll be looking to bounce back from a loss Tuesday night to the New York Rangers where they simply collapsed in the third period.
Here are the top 3 players to watch tonight.
#3 Nic Dowd
Nic Dowd has been a stud on the fourth line all season long. He had a gritty goal in Washington’s loss to the Rangers where there was a scrum in front of the net and he poked it in. His goal was his seventh of the season.
Huzzzahhh! Another one pic.twitter.com/ASU706YMIJ
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 30, 2021
Dowd tied his goal total from last season in 21 fewer games. He’s now one goal shy of tying his career high eight goals from the 2018-19 season. Dowd’s 17.5 shooting percentage is tied for 13th in the NHL among players averaging less than 15 minutes of ice time per game this season.
#2 T.J. Oshie
T.J. Oshie scored on the power play on Tuesday night which was his team leading sixth power play goal. His highest power play goal total as a Capital came in 2015-16 when he scored 11 goals in his first season in red. Oshie has 16 power play goals since 2019-20 which is one shy of Alex Ovechkin (17) for the team lead.
The Caps are one of three teams (Edmonton Oilers and New York Rangers) that have two players with at least 16 power play goals since 2019-20. 19 teams don’t have a single player with at least 16 power play goals during that span.
Oshie took a hard cross check late in Tuesday night’s loss to the Rangers that caused some concern among Caps fans. At their morning skate today, Oshie was a full participant on the ice so he’ll be in.
He swings and he scores! pic.twitter.com/rlaoPG6euV
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 30, 2021
Other news from morning skate was that Richard Panik was practicing with the taxi squad. He will be a healthy scratch for the second game in a row and the Caps will go with the same lineup from Tuesday night. With Lars Eller back, you don’t have to worry about Oshie taking shifts at center.
Oshie is a sure spark plug and definitely someone to watch tonight.
#1 Alex Ovechkin
After being held off the scoresheet, Alex Ovechkin will be looking for a big game tonight against his former coach. Ovechkin has 18 goals this season including 10 goals in his last 10 games. Ovechkin’s 18 goals this season are tied for sixth in the NHL, trailing Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs by five goals for the league lead through games played March 30.
14 of Ovechkin’s 18 goals this season have come at even strength. That is tied for fourth in the NHL through games played March 30. Ovechkin ranks third in the NHL in goals per 60 minutes of five on five play with 1.68 among skaters with at least 10 games played this season.
Ovechkin is now eight goals shy of surpassing Marcel Dionne (731) for fifth place all time on the NHL’s goal scoring list. After Ovechkin had a slow start to the season with part of that season in quarantine, the great eight has heated up down the stretch at the right time as the Caps look to keep their foot on first place in the division.
More. Washington Capitals at Islanders: Kicking off the month of April. light
Those are our top 3 players to watch tonight when the Caps take on the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington.