Game Preview: Islanders vs. Capitals

New York Islanders (13-14-6) vs. Washington Capitals (20-8-4)

"When you can get grooving early you feel good about yourself," Strome said after netting two points vs. Buffalo. "It would have been nice to get one or two more, but I'll take it. It feels good to contribute."

GAME NOTES

Josh Bailey has four assists in three games while Thomas Greiss has won two straight games. Greiss is also 5-1-0 in his last six and is 6-2-0 in his last eight games.
The Islanders power play is 3-of-10 in its last four games, while the shorthanded unit has killed 8-of-10 in the same span. The Capitals power play has gone two straight games without a goal after scoring seven goals in a five game stretch. The Caps PK has killed 12 of its last 13 opportunities.

Tavares on the PK:

Per Eric Hornick:
John Tavares saw significant time on the PK (1:30) for the second straight game. Each of his three PK shifts began with a face-off win. (He won 16 of 21 overall). Prior to Tuesday, he had never spent more than 1:26 on the penalty kill in any NHL game.
"You just try to go hard and be smart and keep your shifts short," Tavares said. "It's a little bit more ice time, so just trying to make sure I'm being smart with the length of my shifts and whatnot, not trying to extend yourself too much playing in a lot of situations. I've been in a lot of our meetings and seen it a lot on the ice over the last number of years on the PP practicing, so I have a good sense of our framework, our structure and the way we try to kill and try to read and react off one another."

Tavares Moving Up Islanders Leaderboard:

John Tavares is one assist shy of tying Pat LaFontaine for 11th on the Islanders all-time assists chart. Tavares is currently tied with Bobby Nystrom from 12th. The Islanders captain is five points shy of 500.

Washington Capitals Notes:

As the top of the Metropolitan Division stays hot, the Washington Capitals are keeping pace. The Capitals are 7-1-2 in their last 10 games, though even that stretch just has them at fourth in the Metro.
Nicklas Backstrom is three assists shy of 500 and will become the first Capitals player to hit the milestone. Backstrom leads the Capitals with 20 assists and 29 points. Alex Ovechkin leads Washington with 15 goals. Marcus Johansson is third in Capitals scoring with 13 goals and 24 points and is poised to surpass his career-high of 20 goals.
Braden Holtby is 15-7-3 this season and is coming off a 23-save shutout over Tampa Bay on Dec. 23.