Following a drubbing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Islanders (16-9-9) conclude their season series with the Washington Capitals (17-10-5) on Long Island.
ELMONT, NY -- Following a drubbing at the hands of the Pittsburgh Penguins, the New York Islanders (16-9-9) conclude their season series with the Washington Capitals (17-10-5) on Long Island.
Puck drop from UBS Arena is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
The Islanders were sunk by a six-goal second period by the Penguins on Wednesday. Rickard Rakell opened the scoring on a controversial call when the referee blew his whistle at the time the goal was scored. From there, it was all Pittsburgh; a pair of Jake Guentzel and Evgeni Malkin goals and Radim Zohorna's red light made it 6-0 through two periods. Valtteri Puustinen’s first NHL tally was the final marker, paving the way for Tristan Jarry to earn a 22-save shutout in a 7-0 win.
Morning Skate Updates
The Islanders skated at Northwell Health Ice Center this morning.
Semyon Varlamov, who started all three matchups between the teams this season, missed yesterday’s practice due to maintenance and wasn't on the ice.
Ilya Sorokin (10-5-7, 3.27 GAA, .909 SV%) will make his 23rd start of the season tonight and seventh career start against the Capitals. Sorokin is 2-3-1 with a 2.64 GAA and .911 SV% against the Capitals, most recently yielding three goals on 23 shots in a 5-2 loss on April 10.
Oliver Wahlstrom, who slotted in for Julien Gauthier on Wednesday, will come out and Gauthier will play.
Casey Cizikas, who missed Thursday’s practice with illness, is a game-time decision.
Defenseman Scott Mayfield once again skated with the team on Thursday. Lambert said that he could make the trip out west but no decision has been made as of yet.
Washington skated at UBS Arena on Friday.
The Capitals saw various new faces practice with the team on Thursday. THN’s Sammi Silber reported that forward Max Pacioretty and defenseman Ethan Bear took line rushes in practice yesterday.
Both, however, will not play, per head coach Spencer Carbery.
Charlie Lindgren (3-3-2, 2.29 GAA, .928 SV%) will get the start, his second career start against Islanders.
He last faced them on March 3, 2018, in a 6-3 for Montreal at Barclays Center.
New York Islanders Lines (Projected)
Anders Lee - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall - Brock Nelson - Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom - Jean-Gabriel Pageau - Julien Gauthier
Hudson Fasching - Casey Cizikas - Cal Clutterbuck
Alex Romanov - Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc - Robert Bortuzzo
Mike Reilly - Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Ken Appleby
Washington Capitals Lines (Projected)
Alex Ovechkin - Connor McMichael - Tom Wilson
Aliaksei Protas - Dylan Strome - Anthony Mantha
Max Pacioretty - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Matthew Phillips
Beck Malenstyn - Nic Dowd- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary - John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin - Ethan Bear
Joel Edmundson - Nick Jensen
Charlie Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper
Islanders Notes
Tonight’s game is the Islanders’ last home game of 2023, a venue the Islanders enjoyed success in as of late. Wednesday’s loss snapped a nine-game point streak for the Islanders at UBS Arena; New York went 6-0-3 in that span.
Mathew Barzal is three points away from recording his 400th NHL point and the 17th Islander to reach the milestone with the club, alongside Anders Lee and Brock Nelson. Barzal has been a top offensive threat for the Islanders, tallying 10 goals and 25 assists in 33 games.
Nelson and Barzal each have their share of offensive success against Washington. Nelson leads the team in goals and points against the Capitals with 13 and 25, respectively, in 46 contests. Barzal has the most assists among active Islanders, with 16.
Capitals Notes
Washington is 2-1-0 against the Islanders this season, winning their most recent matchup on Dec. 20. Washington dominated the first two periods, getting goals from Hendrix Lapierre and Joel Edmundson. However, the Islanders hung around, with Anders Lee and Hudson Fasching responding to each Capital tally. After both teams went scoreless in the final 7:58, the game went to overtime, where Noah Dobson took a tripping penalty. On the ensuing power play, Dylan Strome scored the game-winner, propelling Washington to a 3-2 win.
The Capitals enter tonight’s game off a 5-1 loss to the New York Rangers. Despite an early Anthony Mantha goal, the Rangers responded with five-straight goals. Ke’Andre Miller found the back of the net under three minutes later, and Artemi Panarin scored the eventual game-winner on the power play in the first period. Braden Schneider and Alexis Lafreniére added goals of their own, with Miller tallying a second, finishing off a convincing victory.
Mantha’s goal on Wednesday gives him a four-game point streak entering tonight’s contest. The Capitals’ forward has four goals and an assist in that span. Aliaksei Protas also has a four-game assist streak following a secondary helper against the Rangers.
Despite a two-goal performance in their second meeting, Alex Ovechkin has had a down season in his quest to break Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goals record. Washington’s captain only has six goals on the season but is always a threat against the Islanders.
He has 44 goals and 68 points to lead the team lifetime against the Islanders. Defenseman John Carlson leads in assists with 26.
Betting Corner
In their final matchup of the season, the Islanders are favored to pull out the victory, entering at -165 on the money line; Washington comes in at +140. The over/under starts at 5.5 goals, the over favored at -120, and the under at +100.
All lines are courtesy of MGM Sportsbook.
How to Watch
Tonight’s contest is available on MSGSN. On the radio, tonight’s contest will air on 88.7 FM ESPN, 103.9 LI News Radio, and the ESPN NY app.
Matthew Page contributed to this piece.