Morning Skate Updates: Islanders vs Capitals

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (0-1-0) VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS (0-1-0)

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Welcome home.

The New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals in their home opener at UBS Arena on Saturday night, kicking off a three-game homestand.

The Islanders are coming off a 4-3 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins in their season opener. Jonathan Drouin, Kyle Palmieri and Max Shabanov scored for New York, but Pittsburgh’s Justin Brazeau broke a 3-3 tie in the final frame. Ilya Sorokin made 24 of 28 saves in net.

The Capitals also dropped their first game of the year in a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins on Wednesday night, with Tom Wilson netting the lone goal for Washington. Logan Thompson made 19 of 21 saves.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Duclair to Top Line with Drouin Out:

With Drouin serving a one-game suspension, Anthony Duclair took the winger's spot alongside Bo Horvat and Emil Heineman during line rushes at Saturday's morning skate. Duclair also took Drouin's spot on the Islanders' top power-play unit.

"I'm just looking to step up here tonight and fill that role in for him," Duclair said. "I think everybody's excited, especially the home opener in front of our fans. We want to make sure that we get on the right foot here."

Head Coach Patrick Roy said Duclair earned the opportunity by having a solid training camp and also touched on the chemistry he saw between Duclair and Heineman in the preseason finale in Philadelphia, where the duo hooked up on the game-winning goal.

"They played really well together [in Philadelphia], so that was easy," Roy said of Duclair's promotion. "He was so good in training camp, so he deserved to be there. When you see a player playing that way you're happy to give him the opportunity, because he deserves it."

Gatcomb Makes Season Debut

Marc Gatcomb is expected to draw into the lineup due to Drouin's suspension. It marks Gatcomb's season debut and he's expected to play with Max Tsyplakov and Casey Cizikas. Roy said he wants Gatcomb to play physical, solid along the walls, finish his checks and bring the puck to the net, all while responsible defensively.

For Gatcomb, Saturday is a chance to make an impression on the Islanders especially with a deep forward group on the roster this season. The 26-year-old played his way from Bridgeport to the Islanders last season and is looking to continue to build off it.

"Just picking up where I left off, and doing things that found me success last year," Gatcomb said. "Just trying to contribute any way I can, whether it's physicality, forechecking, penalty kill whatever they need."

Ritchie Participates in Morning Skate

Cal Ritchie joined the Islanders for the team's morning skate, but there are no updates on a timetable for his return.

Projected Lines:

Anthony Duclair - Bo Horvat - Emil Heineman
Anders Lee - Mathew Barzal - Kyle Palmieri
Max Shabanov - JG Pageau - Simon Holmstrom
Marc Gatcomb - Casey Cizikas - Max Tsyplakov

Alexander Romanov - Tony DeAngelo
Adam Pelech - Ryan Pulock
Matthew Schaefer - Scott Mayfield

Ilya Sorokin

Capitals Projected Lines:

Alex Ovechkin - Dylan Strome - Connor McMichael
Aliaksei Protas - Pierre-Luc Dubois - Tom Wilson
Anthony Beauvillier - Hendrix Lapierre - Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime - Nic Dowd - Justin Sourdif

Martin Fehervary - John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun - Trevor van Riemsdyk
Rasmus Sandin - Matt Roy

Logan Thompson

HOME OPENER

All fans in attendance will receive an Islanders scarf to celebrate the home opener, presented by UBS.

Stop by the Trading Card Booth at Section 112 and create your own personalized playing card to commemorate the home opener. Warm-up pucks can be purchased at the Community Relations table while supplies last.

Purchase Islanders 50/50 raffle tickets at the game or online! Proceeds for the home opener will help benefit the W20 Foundation.

Before the game, fans can enjoy live music from The 90's Band and play interactive games at The Park at UBS Arena.

DROUIN SUSPENDED

Drouin will miss the Islanders’ home opener after he was given a one-game suspension by the NHL’s Department of Player Safety for cross-checking Pittsburgh's Connor Dewar with 15 seconds to play in the third period of Thursday's contest.

Drouin made his Islanders debut on Thursday and potted his first goal for New York. Duclair is expected to skate in Drouin's place on Saturday night.

Update: Drouin spoke to the media following Saturday's skate about his suspension.

"I didn't try to get him in the face, it was kind of like my stick rides up, and soon as I got him, I was like oh, not a good spot to hit someone," Drouin said. "So it's unfortunate I got him there."

HOME DEBUTS FOR SCHAEFER, SHABANOV AND HEINEMAN

Matthew Schaefer, Max Shabanov and Emil Heineman will make their Islanders home debuts on Saturday.

The first home game is just the latest milestone for Schaefer and Shabanov, who each recorded their first NHL points in their first NHL games on Thursday.

Schaefer notched his first point with a primary helper on Drouin’s goal with the 18-year-old defenseman’s family and friends in attendance in Pittsburgh.

Shabanov showed off a skilled play with a one-timer that found the back of the net in his first pro game in North America. The Russian winger skated on a line with JG Pageau and Simon Holmstrom.

“I’m not surprised with his skills with the puck,” Pageau said. “But impressed with are his skills without the puck, making the read. It’s hard when you come overseas, the game is a little different. He’s got an extremely good is hockey IQ and he made some great defensive plays too. He played awesome.”

SPECIAL TEAMS FOCUS

An area for improvement for the Islanders coming out of the first game of the season is special teams, as the penalty kill went 2-for-4 and the power play went 0-for-3, which was a difference in Thursday’s loss.

Saturday will present an important test, as Washington’s penalty kill finished in fifth last season (82.0%) and their power play ranked 14^th (23.5%).

“Washington's got a great power play, so you want to stay disciplined," JG Pageau said. "There are some little details in our d-zone that we want to touch base on, be more aggressive in certain situations, and that's going to be key against a good team that's good down low and in the o-zone. You want to defend well and be quick on them, so that'll be key for us."

SEASON SERIES

The Islanders most recently faced the Capitals in their final home game of the 2024-25 campaign, resulting in a 3-1 loss at UBS Arena. They went 1-1-1 against the Washington in the season series overall.

ACROSS THE ICE

• Dylan Strome led the Caps in scoring with 82 points (29G, 53A) last season, while Alex Ovechkin paced Washington with 44 goals and became the NHL's all-time leading goal scorer on April. 6.
• The Capitals saw the departures of Andrew Mangiapane, Lars Eller and Taylor Raddysh over the offseason.
• Former Islander Anthony Beauvillier signed a two-year extension with the Caps over the offseason.