Capitals facing poor Game 7 history at home

UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The Washington Capitals couldn't end their Eastern Conference First Round series against the New York Islanders, losing 3-1 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. The best-of-7 series is tied 3-3, and Washington will host Game 7 on Monday at Verizon Center, but that might not be a good thing.

Washington is 3-9 in Game 7 in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, including 2-7 at home. Since 2008, they are 1-4 on home ice.

"Winning is hard," Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin said. "It's not going to be easy. It's going to be a seventh game Monday and it's going to be fun. I think our fans are going to give us very good confidence."

Braden Holtby, who made 35 saves Saturday, was in goal for Game 7 when the Capitals lost to the New York Rangers 5-0 at home in the first round of the 2013 playoffs, the last time they played a Game 7.

"We have a different team now," Holtby said.

Capitals coach Barry Trotz agreed, saying the poor record at home will mean nothing come Monday.

"A lot of our guys haven't been a part of that history," Trotz said. "I haven't, so it doesn’t really mean anything to me."

This Game 7 (7:30 p.m. ET; NBCSN, SN, TVA Sports 2, MSG+, CSN-DC) will decide whether the Capitals or Islanders advance to the second round to play the New York Rangers.

"We regroup and play the same game that we did in [a 5-1 win] Game 5," Holtby said. "We showed flashes of it tonight, but I don’t think we were tight enough defensively. We had our chances, and we will have to make sure we have some heroes in Game 7."

The Capitals are 2-1 against the Islanders in the playoffs at Verizon Center and won two games against New York at home during the regular season.

"The three games [at Nassau Coliseum] were fantastic," Trotz said. "We are going to need our fans to do what the Islanders fans did. Bring it, help us along, and help us through Game 7."

Follow David Satriano on Twitter: @davidsatriano