Capitals at Islanders preview

CAPITALS (13-7-3) at ISLANDERS (12-8-2)
7 p.m. ET; SN, MSG+, NBCSWA+, NHL.TV

Trotz resigned as Capitals coach June 18, less than two weeks after helping them win the Stanley Cup for the first time. He was hired by the Islanders on June 21.
Washington, now coached by Todd Reirden, has won five in a row and sits atop the Metropolitan Division.
New York is seeking its third straight victory and trails the Capitals by three points. The Islanders are 9-1-0 within the Metropolitan Division.

Players to watch

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has five goals and two assists during a five-game point streak.
Islanders center Valtteri Filppula has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past six games.

They said it

"I think it'll be fun. The hockey world's pretty small and it's always kind of fun when you have a game where you go up against somebody you know. Obviously, he got pretty close to this team over the course of four years, so it'll be a little weird. I'm interested to see how it goes." -- Capitals forward Tom Wilson
"From my standpoint, the bond I have with that group of players and the organization, obviously winning the Cup, that's everlasting. It's undeniable. It's a good test for our group; I want to do the same thing with this group." -- Islanders coach Barry Trotz

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky -- Travis Boyd -- Devante Smith-Pelly
Dmitrij Jaskin -- Nic Dowd -- Chandler Stephenson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Christian Djoos - Madison Bowey
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched:Jonas Siegenthaler
Injured:Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), T.J. Oshie (upper body), Brooks Orpik (lower body)

Islanders projected lineup

Anders Lee -- Brock Nelson -- Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier -- Mathew Barzal -- Josh Bailey
Tom Kuhnhackl -- Valtteri Filppula -- Leo Komarov
Matt Martin -- Tanner Fritz -- Cal Clutterbuck
Nick Leddy -- Johnny Boychuk
Thomas Hickey -- Ryan Pulock
Adam Pelech -- Scott Mayfield
Thomas Greiss
Robin Lehner
Scratched:Luca Sbisa, Stephen Gionta, Ross Johnston
Injured:Casey Cizikas (lower body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

Status report

Kuznetsov took part in the morning skate but is expected to miss his sixth straight game. … Oshie, who was injured Nov. 14, is not on the trip. … Martin was activated off injured reserve and will play for the first time since Nov. 1. … Cizikas participated in the morning skate but will not play.

Stat pack

Ovechkin is one goal from moving into a three-way tie with Jarome Iginla and Joe Sakic for 15th on the NHL's all-time list with 625, and one power-play goal from passing Mario Lemieux and tying Brendan Shanahan for sixth place (237). … Bailey is two points from 400 in the NHL. … The Islanders are 1-5-0 when they outshoot their opponent.