Capitals at Islanders preview

CAPITALS (1-0-0) at ISLANDERS (0-0-0)
7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, MSG+, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The 22-year-old goalie was a first-round pick (No. 22) by the Capitals in the 2015 NHL Draft. He went 20-16-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and an .898 save percentage in 37 games for Hershey of the American Hockey League last season.
The Capitals opened their season with a 3-2 overtime win at the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
New York is playing its first game of the season and the first of 28 games at Nassau Coliseum. The other 13 home games will be played at Barclays Center.
Islanders coach Barry Trotz did not say whether Thomas Greiss or Semyon Varlamovwould be the starting goalie.

Players to watch

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin scored his 659th NHL goal Wednesday. He had 51 goals in 81 games last season.
Islanders forward Jordan Eberle scored four goals in the preseason. He had five goals over the final seven regular-season games last season and scored in each game of New York's four-game sweep against the Pittsburgh Penguins in the Eastern Conference First Round.

They said it

"Some little different looks from them, and the same with ourselves, just different personnel obviously involved and fewer guys that are connected to our former Caps era. It'll have a different look to it, but obviously it's going to be an intense, emotional game here in Nassau." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden
"A good way to start it off against obviously a great team, one that had a pretty good game against St. Louis to start us off. It'll be nice to be at home for us and have our fans behind us and getting that atmosphere going. It's just the beginning of another season that we're all really excited about."-- Islanders captain Anders Lee

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin -- Chandler Stephenson -- Richard Panik
Brendan Leipsic -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Jonas Siegenthaler -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Nick Jensen
Martin Fehervary -- Radko Gudas
Ilya Samsonov
Braden Holtby
Scratched:Tyler Lewington, Travis Boyd
Injured: Michal Kempny (hamstring)
Suspended: Evgeny Kuznetsov

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Mathew Barzal -- Jordan Eberle
Michael Dal Colle -- Brock Nelson -- Josh Bailey
Anthony Beauvillier -- Derick Brassard -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Casey Cizikas -- Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech -- Ryan Pulock
Devon Toews -- Scott Mayfield
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Greiss
Semyon Varlamov
Scratched: Noah Dobson, Ross Johnston, Tom Kuhnhackl
Injured: Andrew Ladd (knee)

Status report

Kuznetsov will serve the second of a three-game suspension for inappropriate conduct during the offseason. … Reirden said it's likely Kempny will not play until sometime next week. … Cizikas, who was injured in the third period of a 4-2 preseason win against the New York Rangers on Sept. 28, was a full participant at the morning skate and will play. … Trotz said the team is being cautious with Dobson, who "tweaked something" during training camp. The 19-year-old defenseman participated in the morning skate. "For right now, it's a decision based on opponent and maybe where he is," Trotz said. "He's just putting some stuff in the bank right now."

Stat pack

The line of Eller, Vrana and Oshie combined for four points and 12 shots on goal Wednesday. … The Islanders did not allow a goal in eight of the final nine periods they played against the Capitals last season.