Game Preview: Islanders vs Capitals

NEW YORK ISLANDERS (34-25-8) VS WASHINGTON CAPITALS (31-28-7)
7:30 PM ET | UBS ARENA | BUY TICKETS
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The New York Islanders will host the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at UBS Arena, battling for another key win in the Eastern Conference wild card race.
The Islanders
pulled off a 4-3 overtime victory
against the Pittsburgh Penguins on Thursday night in thrilling fashion, rallying out of a 3-1 deficit with 5:29 left in regulation. Anders Lee (2G), Hudson Fasching and Brock Nelson (GWG) scored for the Islanders in the comeback win. Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves in the fourth and final matchup of the season series, where the Islanders swept the Penguins for the first time ever.

"It wasn't our prettiest game of late by any means, but we battled," Anders Lee said following the victory. "We fought for that one quite a bit. The last 20 minutes we did everything we could to right the ship and get back in that game."
The Capitals fell 3-2 in the shootout to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night on home ice. Trevor van Riemsdyk and Dylan Strome scored for Washington, while Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer scored for the Devils in regulation. After a stalemate third period and extra frame, Timo Meier got the job done for New Jersey in the shootout as the lone goal scorer. The Capitals were outshot 40-22 in the contest.
The Islanders occupy the first wild card spot (76 points, 67 games played), while the Capitals (69 points, 66 games played) are sitting out of the playoff picture with one game in-hand against the Islanders. Eight points separate the top six teams vying for a wild card spot in the tight standings of the Eastern Conference. The Islanders have 15 remaining games to protect their playoff spot, though every team trailing has at least one game in-hand.
The last time these teams crossed paths, the Capitals bested the Islanders in overtime 4-3 on Jan. 16 at UBS Arena. Since then, the Islanders went 11-7-5 (11th in the NHL), while the Capitals went 8-12-1 (28th) over that span.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES:

Cal Clutterbuck was
activated off the team's IR list
and is expected to play vs the Capitals. Otto Koivula is considered
day to day with a lower-body injury
and is not expected to play. If Clutterbuck plays, it'll be his first game since Jan. 19, when he suffered a upper-body injury.

ISLANDERS NOTES:

• The Islanders have won three consecutive games, all against teams chasing them in the race for a wild card spot. Picking up nine of a possible 10 points over their last five games, the Islanders (76 points) hold the top wild card spot in the Eastern Conference. The Penguins (74 points) hold the second wild card spot but have three games in-hand.
  - The Islanders are 11-3-3 in their last 17 matchups, boosting their record to nine games over the NHL-.500 which marks a season high.
  - Anders Lee netted a pair of goals against the Penguins on Thursday, marking the sixth time this season he was able to score two goals in a game. Bo Horvat is the only other Islander with more multi-goal games (9).
  - Ilya Sorokin tallied his first NHL point on Thursday with the primary assist on Brock Nelson's game winning goal in overtime. The 27-year-old was in net for all four wins against Pittsburgh this season, stopping 137-of-147 shots (.932 SV%) in the season sweep.
  ISLES VS CAPS
  ISLANDERS ARTICLES
  3 Takeaways: Islanders 4, Penguins 3 OT
  Isles Pregame Coffee
  Lewis on the Goring Trade
  This Day in Isles History
  Talkin' Isles: Bryan Trottier
  GAME EXTRAS
  Become a Season Ticket Member
  Race to the Rink
  Reverse Retro Jersey
  Talkin' Isles
  Isles History
  - Hudson Fasching is riding a career-long three game point streak (2G, 2A) including scoring consecutive goals in his last two outings.
  - Casey Cizikas has five points (1G, 4A) in his last five games, and skated a career-high 21:03 on Thursday.
  - Zach Parise is expected to play his 150th consecutive game with the Islanders on Saturday, which includes his all-82 games last season and perfect attendance thus far this season. Four other Islanders (Anders Lee, Ryan Pulock, Brock Nelson and Scott Mayfield) have also played in every game this season.
  - Matt Martin is expected to play in his 752nd game against the Capitals, which would tie Mike Bossy for seventh on the Islanders all-time list for games played.
  - The Islanders have outscored their opponents 17-1 in their last 10 third periods.
  - The Islanders are 20-11-3 on home ice this season and are 7-2-1 over their last 10 at UBS Arena.
  "I'm looking forward to it," Anders Lee said of Saturday's matchup against the Caps on home ice. "Our fans have been phenomenal. We feed off their energy, we feel that big-time. To get back in front of them, another big two points available, let's roll."
  - Islanders legend Bryan Trottier will be honored for Saturday's theme night. The first 10k fans in attendance will recieve a free bobblehead.

CAPITALS NOTES:

• The Capitals dropped their second straight game on Thursday against the Devils but picked up a point in the shootout loss. Darcy Kuemper made 38 saves, which is tied for his third-best outing of the season in number of saves.
  - Washington returned Vincent Iorio to their AHL affiliate, the team announced on Friday afternoon. The 20-year-old defenseman recorded one assist in three games played with the Capitals this season after debuting on Mar. 4.
  - Rasmus Sandin has five points (1G, 4A) in his last five outings. The 23-year-old defenseman skated a career-high 29:58 on Thursday. Sandin was acquired by the Capitals ahead of the NHL trade deadline from the Toronto Maple Leafs.
  - Craig Smith is two goals shy of his milestone 200th NHL goal. Smith, who was acquired from the Boston Bruins, netted two goals for Washington since the trade, both coming on Mar. 4 against the San Jose Sharks.
  - The Capitals unloaded Dmitry Orlov, Garnet Hathaway, Marcus Johansson, Erik Gustafsson and Lars Eller ahead of the trade deadline this year.
  - Alex Ovechkin leads his team in goals (36) and points (61) overall. The captain surpassed Gordie Howe on the all-time list in goals on Dec. 23 with his 802nd goal of his career. Ovechkin (816 career goals) sits in second on the all-time list - 78 behind Wayne Gretzky (894 goals).
  - Evgeny Kuznetsov leads the Capitals in assists (39).
  - Connor Brown skated on Friday morning ahead of the team's optional practice. The 29-year-old winger tore his ACL on Oct. 17 in his fourth game of the season and underwent surgery in November.