Game Preview: Islanders at Capitals

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

7:00 PM | CAPITAL ONE ARENA

WATCH/STREAM: MSGSN | GOTHAM SPORTS APP

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

Below are the Islanders’ lines from Saturday’s game against the Nashville Predators. Check back on Monday morning for any updates to the lineup.

Ondrej Palat – Bo Horvat – Emil Heineman
Max Shabanov – Mathew Barzal – Anthony Duclair
Anders Lee – JG Pageau – Simon Holmstrom
Kyle MacLean – Casey Cizikas– Marc Gatcomb

Matthew Schaefer – Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech – Tony DeAngelo
Carson Soucy – Scott Mayfield

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 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.