Islanders vs. Washington Capitals: Welcome home fans

Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
Washington Capitals (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals will take on the New York Islanders in front of 2,100 lucky Caps fans that got tickets to the game. For the first time in 13 months in fact it was nearly 14 months, fans are returning to watch the Caps at Capital One Arena. We’ll have a guide for you shortly on if you’re attending the game. In the meantime, here’s a preview for the matchup ahead.

The Caps and Islanders met in the previous two games with two very different games but the same result, Washington coming out on top. The first game was a shootout affair where the Caps won 1-0. The second game was a high scoring contest that saw the Caps win 6-3.

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The Caps held a morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Alex Ovechkin wasn’t on the ice for the second straight day. Justin Schultz was on the ice in full contact for practice but wasn’t cleared to play. Both will remain out with lower body injuries per head coach Peter Laviolette.

Vitek Vanecek will get the start in goal. He carries a 17-9-3 record with a 2.77 goals against average and a .908 save percentage. Vanecek leads rookie goaltenders with 17 wins and ranks tied for sixth in wins among goaltenders. In four appearances against the Islanders this season, Vanecek is 2-1-0 with a 2.47 goals against average and a .929 save percentage.

Here is what the lines looked like via Samantha Pell of The Washington Post:

Sprong-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Mantha-Backstrom-Oshie
Sheary-Eller-Raffl
Hagelin-Dowd-Hathaway
Orlov-Carlson
Dillon-TvR
Chara-Jensen

What will the scene look like at Capital One Arena with fans in the building? Here’s how to find out:

Date: April 27, 2021
Time: 7 p.m.
Where: Capital One Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington
Radio: Caps Radio 24/7
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