Game Preview: Islanders vs Capitals

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (23-18-3) VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS (23-16-6)
7:30 PM | UBS ARENA| BUY TICKETS
WATCH: MSGSN | MSGGO | ESPN+
LISTEN: 88.7FM | 103.9FM | 1050 AM
The New York Islanders face the Washington Capitals on Monday night at UBS Arena for the first time this season. The Islanders edged the Capitals 2-1-1 in the season series last year, with both victories coming from a home-and-home sweep at the tail end of last season.
The Islanders are coming off a 2-1 win over the Montreal Canadiens on home ice on Saturday night. Casey Cizikas and Anthony Beauvillier established a 2-0 lead early in the first period, while Nick Suzuki broke Ilya Sorokin's shutout in the middle of the third frame. Sorokin made 22 saves in the win, while Sam Montembeault stopped 36-of-38 Islanders shots.

The Capitals are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Philidelphia Flyers on Saturday. Alex Ovechkin scored the lone goal for Washington, while Scott Laughton, James van Riemsdyk and Wade Allison powered the 3-1 victory for Philidelphia. With Saturday's loss, the Capitals were swept in the home-and-home series with the Flyers.
In the Metropolitan Division standings, three points separate the Islanders (49 points) and the Capitals (52 points), while the Islanders have one game in-hand.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders snapped a four-game winless streak on Saturday night, in their 2-1 win over the Canadiens, marking the first win of the three-game homestand.
  "Players take ownership, they have to," Head Coach Lane Lambert said following the victory. "They did a really good job of having that commitment, and I thought our leadership's done a good job. It was huge to get the win."
  - With Saturday's 2-1 feat, the Islanders improved to fifth in the Metro and regained the second wild card spot in the Eastern Conference.
  - Scott Mayfield notched his fourth point (1G, 3A) in his last five games. Mayfield has 12 points (5G, 7A) in 44 games this season. With 99 points in his career, Mayfield is one point shy of 100.
  - Anthony Beauvillier snapped an eight-game goal drought on Saturday night, scoring the second goal in the 2-1 victory.
  "We had a great first period to get a couple goals," Beauvillier said following the win. "Everyone was on top of the puck and everyone was dialed in."
  ISLES VS CAPITALS
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  3 Takeaways: NYI 2, MTL 1
  Isles Host Mental Health Night vs Capitals
  Question and Isles Bagel Order
  Isles Wives Help Pack 1,300 Backpacks at Island Harvest
  Talkin' Isles: Thomas Hickey
  GAME EXTRAS
  Pucks and Paws
  Reverse Retro Jersey
  Talkin' Isles
  - The Islanders outscored the Capitals 9-2 in last year's home-and-home set (Apr. 26 and 28), with seven of the nine goals coming in the final frame.
  - Mat Barzal put up four points (4A) against the Capitals last season, and recorded 21 points (5G, 16A) against the franchise in his career.
  - Brock Nelson has 28 points (7G, 21A) in his career against Washington, including three points (2G, 1A) in the three times he faced the Capitals last season.
  - The Islanders penalty kill rose to 6th in the NHL (82.4%), killing off 12 consecutive penalties.

CAPITALS NOTES:

• The Capitals are fourth in the Metro and hold the first wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with 52 points. Despite a slow start to the season, the Capitals have picked up the pace with a record of 16-6-3 since Nov. 23.
  - In Saturday night's 3-1 loss, Alex Ovechkin broke multiple milestones scoring his 30th goal of the season, reaching the 30-goal threshold for the 17th time in his career. Ovechkin tied longtime Capitals forward Mike Gartner for most 30+ goal seasons in NHL history. His 810th career goal also marked his 400th career goal scored at on home ice, joining Gartner as well as Wayne Gretzky in the small group of players to reach the 400 goal-mark on home ice.
  - Ovechkin leads the Capitals in goals and points overall this season (49), while ranking third in the NHL in shots (198).
  - The Capitals have been without some of their key players this season, but the team is seeing some good news on the injury front with the return of Tom Wilson and Nicklas Backstrom, who rejoined the lineup on Jan. 8 for the first time of the season. Wilson had knee surgery last spring, while Backstrom underwent hip surgery. Head Coach Peter Laviolette addressed their progress after three games back with the team.
  "I think it's unfair to expect them to jump in on game one after both [had] pretty big procedures done, after no training camp and no game time, to expect peak performance," Laviolette said on Saturday night. "It's going to take time for them to continue to grow."
  - T.J. Oshie has three goals in his last five games, totaling eight goals in 28 games played this season.
  - Dropping his last two decisions, Darcy Kuemper has a 12-11-4 record in his first season with the Capitals after Signing a five-year deal in the offseason after winning a Stanley Cup with Colorado.

MENTAL HEALTH AWARENESS NIGHT:

The New York Islanders are hosting Mental Health Awareness Night, presented by Northwell Health, on Monday, January 16 when the team takes on the Washington Capitals at UBS Arena.
The meaning of Monday's game is to bring increased awareness to mental health resources and foster an environment that normalizes mental health care instead of stigmatizing it. Mental Health is one of four key pillars of Northwell Health and the Islanders' newest platform, #WellnessWins. This platform is centered around the importance of both physical and mental well-being and will be present throughout the rest of the season's programming.
After the game, all fans in attendance will receive a Fidget Cube, presented by Northwell Health.