Game Preview: Islanders at Capitals 

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (15-8-8) AT WASHINGTON CAPITALS (15-9-4)

7:30 PM ET | CAPITAL ONE ARENA

WATCH: TNT

LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050 AM

The New York Islanders are looking to carry the energy and momentum from Tuesday night's win over Edmonton into the second half of a back-to-back set on Wednesday with a matchup against the Washington Capitals.

Anders Lee (PPG), Brock Nelson (PPG) and Simon Holmstrom (SHG) scored three unanswered goals in a 3-1 win over the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday night at UBS Arena, while Ilya Sorokin made 30 saves. Special teams stood out in the contest, as the power play produced two goals while the penalty kill went a perfect 4-for-4, including a 5-on-3 kill and even produced a goal with Holmstrom’s shorthanded tally.

“I thought both special teams were really good tonight,” Head Coach Lane Lambert said after the win. “Our power play started us and got the ball rolling, and then the penalty kill tonight was better. And anytime you kill a five-on-three, you get a lot of momentum off that.”

The Capitals are coming off a 2-1 shootout win over the Carolina Hurricanes on Sunday night. Martin Fehervary scored in regulation for the Capitals and Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the game-deciding goal in the shootout. Darcy Kuemper made 28 saves in the win.

The Islanders and Capitals are tied in the season series at one apiece after the Islanders took a 3-0 win at Capital One Arena on Nov. 2 but lost 4-1 on Nov. 11 at UBS Arena. After Wednesday's showdown, the two teams will meet for the fourth and final time on Dec. 29.

ISLANDERS NOTES

- With a 3-1 win on Tuesday, the Islanders' home point streak reached nine games (6-0-3).

- Simon Holmstrom buried his league-leading fifth shorthanded goal on Tuesday. JG Pageau recorded the primary assist - earning his fifth shorthanded point of the season - to sit right behind Holmstrom for the league lead in shorthanded points (6).

- Bo Horvat’s career-long point streak reached 11 games on Tuesday night with a second period tally. The 28-year-old center has 17 points (8G, 9A) over that span.

- With two power-play goals on Tuesday, the Islanders scored multiple power-play goals in the same game for the fifth time of the season. The Islanders power play is now 17-for-49 (34.6%) since Nov. 15, which leads the league in that span.

- Semyon Varlamov is expected to start against the Capitals on Wednesday night. The netminder 35-year-old owns a 6-4-1 record this season along with a .919 SV% and a 2.73 GAA. Varlamov faced the Capitals in both meetings of the season, picking up a 3-0 on Nov. 2nd on the road and dropping a 4-1 decision on Nov. 11 at home.

- The Islanders are winless in the second game of a back-to-back set (0-2-2) as they head into their fifth back-to-back of the season.

- Starting with Wednesday's contest against the Capitals, the Islanders will face opponents in the Metropolitan Division in five straight games to close out the calendar year. They’ll face the Caps again on Dec. 29 at home, take on the Penguins twice (Dec. 27 and 31) and visit Raleigh in that span. With an important 10 points up for grabs, the Islanders can take advantage of this stretch to gain ground in the division.

CAPITALS NOTES

- The Capitals wrapped a four-game road trip on Sunday where the team went 2-1-1. Washington ranks fifth in the Metropolitan Division with 34 points. The Capitals have played the fewest amount of games in the Metro (28), three fewer than the Islanders (31 games, 38 points).

- T.J. Oshie (lower-body) was placed on IR on Tuesday, meaning he will not face the Islanders on Wednesday and miss at least the next two games afterwards. He was a late scratch before Sunday's matchup against the Carolina Hurricanes, which marked his seventh missed game of the season. The 36-year-old has four points (2G, 2A) through 21 games this season.

- Ivan Miroshnichenko and Hendrix Lapierre were recalled from the Hershey Bears on Tuesday. Miroshnichenko, 19, has yet to make his NHL debut. The Capitals' 2022 first-round pick (20th overall) has 15 points (8G, 7A) through 27 games this season for the Hershey Bears. Lapierre, 21, played in 17 NHL games for Washington after being drafted 22nd overall in the 2020 NHL Draft. He made six appearances in the 2021-22 season and played 11 games with the club this year, racking up four total career points (2G, 2A).

- The Capitals reassigned Joe Snively to the Hershey Bears on Tuesday. The 27-year-old forward is without a point through three outings with Washington this season.

- Dylan Strome leads the Capitals in goals (12) and is tied with Tom Wilson for the team lead in points (18). The 26-year-old forward is riding a four-game point streak with two goals and three assists over that span, including his 100th career goal on Dec. 7 against the Dallas Stars. The milestone goal also had significance for his teammate and captain Alex Ovechkin, who recorded his 1500th career point on Strome’s tally.

- Ovechkin is trying to snap a goal drought that reached 13 games on Sunday, which marks the longest stretch of his career where the winger couldn’t find the back of the net. Ovechkin, 38, has 17 points (5G, 12A) through 28 games this season.

- Washington's power play (9.8%) ranks last in the NHL.

- The Capitals are 8-4-2 on home ice this season.