Oshie-Barzal 1-18

ISLANDERS (27-15-4) at CAPITALS (27-14-5)
7:30 p.m. ET; ESPN+, SN1, SNE, NBCSWA, MSG+, NHL.TV

Trotz resigned on June 18, 11 days after the Capitals won the Cup, and was hired by the Islanders three days later. He has his new team on a 13-3-0 run that has moved them within one point of the Capitals and Blue Jackets, who are even in points for first place in the Metropolitan Division. Trotz was 205-89-34 in four seasons with the Capitals.
Starting goalie Braden Holtby will return for Washington. Holtby hasn't played since he was poked in the eye by the stick of Columbus Blue Jackets forward Cam Atkinson during the second period of a 2-1 overtime loss Saturday.
New York is on a three-game winning streak, including a 4-1 victory against the New Jersey Devils at Nassau Coliseum on Thursday. Washington is 0-2-1 in its past three games, matching its longest losing streak of the season.

Players to watch

Islanders goalie Robin Lehner is 10-1-0 with a 1.42 goals-against average, .950 save percentage and one shutout in his past 11 games (10 starts).
Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has three goals and two assists during a four-game point streak. His next goal will move him past Dave Andreychuk (640) for sole possession of 14th place on the NHL's all-time list.

They said it

"I'll cry watching 'The Notebook' on TV when it's on … an emotional type guy. I think I'll be OK, but I appreciate the organization, the players, the fans and all the support people around the game." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz on his return to Washington
"He showed how much he cared about each individual player and their success, and how much he cared about us being a team, not just being on the same team, but really bonding, being a team." -- Capitals forward T.J. Oshie on Trotz

Islanders projected lineup
Capitals projected lineup
Status report

The Islanders did not hold a morning skate.

Stat pack

New York is 6-0-0 in the second game of back-to-backs. Barzal has 16 points (nine goals, seven assists) in his past 13 games. … Ovechkin needs five points to tie Sergei Fedorov (1,179) for the highest-scoring Russia-born player in NHL history.