Game Preview: Islanders at Capitals

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (30-20-5) AT WASHINGTON CAPITALS (27-22-7)

7:00 PM | CAPITAL ONE ARENA

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LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | ISLANDERS + UBS ARENA APP

The New York Islanders travel to the nation’s capital to play the Washington Capitals in a Metropolitan Division contest on Monday night.

New York fell to the Predators 4-3 following a Nashville go ahead goal in the final two minutes of the game on Saturday night. Mathew Barzal, Matthew Schaefer and JG Pageau scored in the defeat. Ilya Sorokin made 38 saves on 42 shots.

Monday’s game has standings implications as the Islanders sit third in the Metro with 65 points, and the Capitals are fifth with 61 points.

PROJECTED LINEUP

Ondrej Palat - Bo Horvat - Mathew Barzal
Emil Heineman - Jonathan Drouin - Simon Holmstrom
Anders Lee - JG Pageau - Anthony Duclair
Kyle MacLean - Casey Cizikas - Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer - Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech - Tony DeAngelo

Carson Soucy - Scott Mayfield

David Rittich

RITTICH TO START

David Rittich will start between the pipes for the Islanders on Monday. Rittich is 12-7-3 this season with a .901 SV%, a 2.54 GAA along with two shutouts. His career numbers against the Caps include a 0-2-0 record, a .891 SV% and a 2.57 GAA.

HOLMSTROM ALONGSIDE SWEDISH BUDDY

Simon Holmstrom will play on a line with Emil Heineman for the first time as they'll be on either side of Drouin. Roy said that he's "curious" about seeing the Swedish pair together, as they've become close friends off the ice this season.

"It's going to be good, I think he's very hard on the forecheck and he's got a hell of a shot like everyone knows," Holmstrom said. "It's up to me and Drouin to find him."

The Swedish winger has been called a “game changer” by his teammates and Roy, as Holmstrom has been strong in plays away from the puck, plus he had a three-point outing (1G, 2A) on Wednesday against the Rangers.

"He's a really skilled player," Heineman said of Holmstrom. "He's underrated and he has a 200-foot game. He can create plays out of nowhere. He's really good at defending as well, winning pucks back which is important when you want to create offense, I'm looking forward to it."

Holmstrom has 28 points (13G, 15A) through 53 games this season.

BARZAL AND HORVAT REUNITED

Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat are back on a line together with Palat on the left wing.

Horvat is looking to ramp up offensively since returning to lineup. He’s played five games since returning from a five-game absence after sustaining a lower-body injury on Jan. 1 and has two assists in that span.

"Very simple, we feel like Palat is a really good fit for these two guys," Roy said. "He's a guy that goes to the net, works really hard. Bo is really good on faceoffs, he's been playing really well offensively and defensively. It'll allow Barzal to focus on his offense and less responsibility on faceoffs in the d-zone, we think that'll help his game."

BARZAL’S MILESTONE

Mathew Barzal recorded a secondary assist on Matthew Schaefer’s goal to make it 2-0 with under six minutes played in the game against the Preds. It was Barzal’s 560^th career assist and moved him past Clark Gillies for sole possession of the fifth most assists in Islanders history.

Barzal leads the Islanders in assists (32) and points (46) through 55 games.

SCHAEFER’S SECTION

Schaefer scored a goal from the left circle in back-to-back games. He is up to 15 tallies this season and passed Vladimir Malakhov (14) for the second most goals by a rookie defenseman in Islanders history. Schaefer is now only chasing Denis Potvin’s 17 goals in his 1973-74 rookie season for the top spot in franchise history.

The 18-year-old enters Monday night’s game on a three-game point streak, with two goals and an assist over the last three games. Schaefer ranks second on the Isles with 37 points (15G, 22A) this season.

DIVISION ROAD WARRIORS

The Islanders are 5-3-1 when on the road against Metropolitan Division opponents this season, which includes two in their last four games.

SEASON SERIES

This is the fourth of four regular season meetings between the Islanders and Capitals this year.

The Islanders haven’t suffered a regulation road loss to the Capitals since the 2022-23 season.

CAPITALS NOTES

The Capitals are coming off two consecutive wins, with the most recent a comeback overtime victory in a 4-3 OT win against the Carolina Hurricanes. Hednrix Lapierre, Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun (1G, 1A) and Justin Sourdif were the Caps goalscorers on Saturday night. It was their third three-goal comeback since the start of the calendar year.

Washington struggled through January and finished the month 6-8-2.

Chychrun enters the Monday night contest on a four-game point streak, with seven points (1G, 6A) in those games. He ranks fifth on the Capitals with 43 points (19G, 24A), and his 19 goals are tied with Zach Warenski for the most among defensemen in the NHL this season.

Tom Wilson has recorded a point in all three games against the Islanders this season, with five points (3G, 2A) in those contests. Wilson leads the Capitals with 47 points (22G, 25A), and his 22 goals are tied with Alex Ovechkin for the most on the team this season. The Canadian forward will suit up with Horvat for Team Canada at the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

Connor McMichael (upper-body, week-to-week) will not play against the Islanders on Monday, as Capitals Head Coach Spencer Carbery said the forward will be out until after the Olympic break. He has 31 points (8G, 23A) this season.

Logan Thompson and Martin Fehervary are both considered day-to-day and missed Saturday’s game against the Hurricanes. Thompson is 18-16-4 with a 2.46 GAA, a .912 SV% and two shutouts as the Caps lead goaltender this season and will also represent Team Canada for the 2026 Milano Cortina Olympic Winter Games.

Washington owns the 25^th ranked power-play (16.3%) in the league this season, and they have only capitalized on two power-plays in their last 19 opportunities.

The Capitals penalty kill (78.5%) ranks 18^th in the NHL, but they leaped to seventh at 83.9% in January.