They're within a point of each other and one of the teams is WASHington. (I kid you not!) Also worth noting: only one of the two is likely to gain a postseason berth. (What else do you want to know?)
When the Islanders visit the Capitals tonight it's a wash.
How could it be otherwise?
They're within a point of each other and one of the teams is WASHington. (I kid you not!) Also worth noting: only one of the two is likely to gain a postseason berth. (What else do you want to know?)
The Hockey News Yearbook picks our guys fifth in The Met and Washington sixth. (Close enough?)
In a sense that THN forecast is a bit unfair to D.C. when you consider that last season the Capitals lost two of their biggest guns -- first Tom Wilson and then Alex Ovechkin -- for good chunks of the campaign. Not to mention John Carlson's three-month sabbatical after his scary head injury.
Plus, Ovie will be super-motivated this term in his pursuit of Wayne Gretzky's goal-scoring record.
There's no scoring contraption in the Isles arsenal like The Big 8 but New York's advantage clearly is in goal. The Ilya Sorokin-Semyon Varlamov combo surpasses the Caps' Darcy Kuemper-Charlie Lindgren duet whether you swear by analytics or Ouija Boards.
Our Lane Lambert has a year up on the Capitals' rookie bench boss Spencer Carberry.
Granted that Spence has a solid record in player development but that ain't the regular season we're talking about.
Apart from Ovie, Wilson and Carlson, the man to watch is first string center Dylan Strome who enjoyed a career high 23 goals and 65 points last season.
And if you're looking for surprises, how about this stunner. Each club has played eight games and the Isles power play leads the D.C. gang 16 percent to 12. Isles PK also is tops, 79.3 percent to 75.0.
But when it comes time to figure out where the Orange and Blue stand right this minute, I have to refer you to the "specialist," Dr. Butch Goring who revealed the following to his MSG Networks audience:
"The Islanders are a work in progress."
Now The Maven doesn't happen to have a PH.D in hockey as does Dr. Goring. But I do have a "C" in Penmanship from teacher Agnes McNeely at P.S. 54 on Hart Street and Nostrand Avenue in Brooklyn.
And after diligent research I have come up with a brilliant bit of insight: The Capitals also are a work in progress. Specially after this week's announcement that center, Nicklas Backstrom is taking time away from hockey because of an “ongoing injury situation” with his left hip.
Tonight's final score should reveal which is progressing fastest.
As I may have mentioned earlier, tonight's result looks like a wash -- as in Washington not 2-in-1 shampoo!