NHL Preview: New York Islanders (38-28-9) at Washington Capitals (34-32-8)

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NEW YORK ISLANDERS NOTES:

LAST GAME
DATE NYI RESULT SCORE NYI SCORERS IN GOAL
Monday, Mar. 27 Win NYI 5 vs. NJD 1 Engvall, Palmieri (2),
Horvat, Parise
Sorokin (30/31)
Pierre Engvall opened the score with his fourth goal as an Islander, then Kyle Palmieri, Bo Horvat and Zach Parise each found the back of the net in the third period to help the New York Islanders defeat the New Jersey Devils, 5-1, Monday night at UBS Arena. Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas and Scott Mayfield each tallied assists, while Ilya Sorokin earned his 27th win of the season in his 53rd start, turning aside 30 of 31 shots faced.

RECENT TRANSACTIONS & UPDATES
Mar. 20 Otto Koivula has been returned on loan to Bridgeport. Samuel Bolduc has been recalled from loan.

INJURIES GAMES MISSED

3 Adam Pelech Dec. 9 – Jan. 21

8 Noah Dobson Jan. 23 – Jan. 28

10 Simon Holmstrom Dec. 23 – Jan. 6

12 Josh Bailey Nov. 29, Feb. 18 – Feb. 24

13 Mathew Barzal Jan. 6, Feb. 20 –

15 Cal Clutterbuck Oct. 13, Nov. 8, Dec. 2- Dec. 6, Dec. 17 – Jan. 3, Jan. 21 – Mar. 9

20 Hudson Fasching Jan. 19 – Jan. 28

21 Kyle Palmieri Nov. 23 – Dec. 13, Dec. 17 – Jan. 21

25 Sebastian Aho Oct. 13 – Oct. 20, Mar. 21 –

26 Oliver Wahlstrom Oct. 13, Dec. 29 –

36 Otto Koivula Mar. 11 – Mar. 15

40 Semyon Varlamov Dec. 19 – Jan. 1

44 Jean-Gabriel Pageau Feb. 14 – Mar. 11

Man Games Lost: 191

RECENT RESULTS
Monday, Mar. 27 vs. New Jersey W (5-1)
Saturday, Mar. 25 vs. Buffalo L (2-0)
Friday, Mar. 24 at Columbus L/ OT (5-4)
Tuesday, Mar. 21 vs. Toronto W (7-2)
Saturday, Mar. 18 at San Jose W (4-1)
Wednesday, Mar. 15 at Anaheim W (6-3)

VS. WASHINGTON:
Last five meetings (2-1-2)
Mar. 11, 2023 UBS Arena L, 5-1
Jan. 16, 2023 UBS Arena L (OT), 4-3
Apr. 28, 2022 UBS Arena W (5-1)
Apr. 26, 2022 Capital One Arena W (4-1)
Mar. 15, 2022 Capital One Arena L/SO (4-3)

2022-23 0-1-1
Franchise History 102-104-13-17
NYI Home 57-51-2-9
NYI Away 45-53-11-8

SEASON SERIES
DATE LOCATION RESULT/TIME
Jan. 16, 2023 UBS Arena L (OT), 4-3
Mar. 11, 2023 UBS Arena L, 5-1

TEAM NOTES
TONIGHT’S MATCHUP
Tonight, the New York Islanders visit the Washington Capitals in the third of four matchups between the two clubs this season. It is the Islanders’ first visit to Capital One Arena since April 26, 2022, when Noah Dobson and Casey Cizikas each scored in a 4-1 Islander win. The Islanders and Capitals last met less than three weeks ago, on March 11, a 5-1 decision in Washington’s favor. The Islanders have collected points in five of their last six games, and will look to capture their 15th win of the season against Metropolitan Division opponent tonight. They improved to 5-1-1 in their last seven matchups with division foes on Monday night, as the they defeated the New Jersey Devils at home, 5-1. It was the third time this season that the Islanders captured a victory immediately following a shutout loss (March 25 vs. Buffalo).

WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:

LAST GAME
Washington 3, Pittsburgh Penguins 4
March 25, 2023 * PPG Paints Arena * Pittsburgh, PA
Shots: WSH: 34; PIT: 40
Power Plays: WSH: 1/3; PIT: 1/4
Three Stars: 1. Malkin (PIT), 2. Guentzel (PIT), 3. Strome (WSH)

RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Loaned goaltender Zach Fucale and defenseman Gabriel Carlsson to AHL Hershey, 3/23

INJURIES/ILLNESSES
Carl Hagelin: 10/12/22-3/25/23 (74 games)
Connor Brown: 10/20/22-3/25/23 (70 games)
Sonny Milano: 12/15/22, 3/14/23-3/15/23, 3/25/23 (4 games)
Marcus Johansson: 2/25/23-2/26/23 (2 games)
Tom Wilson: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/26/23-2/16/23 (49 games)
Nicklas Backstrom: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/24/22 (43 games)
Dmitry Orlov: 11/7/22-12/9/22 (16 games)
Erik Gustafsson: 12/11/22 (1 game)
Lars Eller: 12/13/22 (1 game)
Hunter Shepard: 12/17/22 (1 game)
Alex Alexeyev: 12/11/22-12/19/22 (5 games)
Beck Malenstyn: 11/3/22-12/27/22 (26 games)
Washington Capitals: Media Notes
T.J. Oshie: 10/31/22-11/19/22, 12/19/22-12/31/22 (17 games)
Nic Dowd: 12/17/22, 1/17/23-2/18/23 (13 games)
Anthony Mantha: 2/12/23, 2/23/23-2/26/23 (4 games)
Martin Fehervary: 12/5/22-12/29/22, 3/4/23-3/9/23 (15 games)
Alex Ovechkin: 1/21/23, 3/14/23 (2 games)
Nick Jensen: 3/4/23-3/9/23, 3/19/23 (5 games)
John Carlson: 10/31/22-11/9/22, 12/27/22-3/21/23 (42 games)
Darcy Kuemper: 12/5/22-12/17/22, 3/19/23-3/21/23 (9 games)
Man Games Lost: 399

UPCOMING SCHEDULE
March 30, 7 p.m. ET at Tampa Bay (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
April 2, 1 p.m. ET vs. New York Rangers (TNT, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
April 6, 7 p.m. ET at Montreal (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
April 8, 7 p.m. ET vs. Florida (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)
April 10, 7 p.m. ET vs. New York Islanders (NBCSW, 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio 24/7)

TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals host the New York Islanders on Wednesday at Capital One Arena for the third of four meetings between the teams this season. The Capitals have won the first two games by a combined score of 9-4. Washington overcame a three-goal deficit to defeat the Islanders 4-3 in overtime on Jan. 16, marking the Capitals’ largest comeback win of the season. On March 11, the Capitals scored five unanswered goals en route to a 5-1 win at UBS Arena. The Capitals and Islanders will conclude their season series on April 10 in Washington. The Capitals are 121-96-13-6 all-time versus New York and 10-4-0 in their last 14 games against the Islanders dating back to the 2020-21 season. In addition, the Capitals are 5-1-0 in their last six games against the Islanders at home.

HOME vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS
Record Goals For Goals Against Streak
61-42-11-3 363 346 1 NYI win (4/26/22)

CAPITALS vs. NEW YORK ISLANDERS ALL-TIME (Career Totals)
Games Goals Assists Points
Ovechkin (66) Ovechkin (42) Backstrom (45) Ovechkin (65)
Backstrom (61) Oshie (17) Carlson/Ovechkin (23) Backstrom (58)
Carlson (50) Backstrom (13) Kuznetsov (19) Oshie (34)

Back-to-Back

  • Wednesday’s game against the Islanders marks the first game of a back-to-back set for the Capitals, who visit the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday. Washington has a record of 6-2-1 in the first of back-to-back games this season.

Special Teams

  • Over their last six games, the Capitals have converted on eight of 19 power-play opportunities (42.1 percent) and have killed off 14 of 16 opposing power plays (87.5 percent).
  • The Capitals have converted on 16 of 57 power-play opportunities (28.1 percent) since Feb. 16 and own the fifth-highest power-play percentage in the NHL in that span.
  • Seven different Capitals have scored on the man advantage during the 18-game stretch, led by Alex Ovechkin and T.J. Oshie’s four (Ovechkin: 4 PPG; Oshie: 4 PPG; Nicklas Backstrom: 3 PPG; Tom Wilson: 2 PPG; Sonny Milano: 1 PPG; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 1 PPG; John Carlson: 1 PPG).
  • This season, the Capitals’ 82.9 penalty kill percentage ranks sixth in the NHL, through games played March 27.
  • On average, the Capitals are shorthanded 2.77 times per game, which is the third-lowest rate in the League.
  • Washington’s +30 net penalty differential this season ranks fourth in the NHL, through games played March 27.