Tonight at 7 p.m. ET, the New York Islanders (47-28-7, 101, points) and Washington Capitals (45-26-7, 101 points) take the ice for Game 1 of their best-of-seven Round 1 Stanley Cup Playoffs series live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
New York is in the postseason for the second time in three seasons and for the first time in an 82-game campaign since 2007 while Washington is back in the playoffs after failing to make the tournament last year for the first time in six springs.
The Islanders are looking for a good start and to win a postseason series for the first time since 1993 while the Capitals hope to begin a deep run as they haven't made it past Round 2 since 1998.
This game can be live streamed for free here.
It came down to the wire, but the Capitals were able to out-duel the Islanders for home-ice advantage, which was established on the last day of the season on Saturday despite both teams losing.
Both clubs boast Hart Trophy candidates as captains Alex Ovechkin (Washington) and John Tavares (New York) are part of the reason each team got into the postseason.
Ovechkin won the Maurice "Rocket" Richard trophy for the fifth time in his career with a league-leading 53 goals while he finished tied for fourth in the NHL with 81 points. It marked the sixth time in his career that the Russian reached the 50-goal plateau.
Tavares, meanwhile, was one point shy of becoming the second player in Islanders history to win the Lady Byng Trophy as he finished second in the NHL this season with 86 points.
Tavares wasn't alone in shouldering the load as three different players reached the 20-goal plateau and three different players notched the 50-point mark for New York.
Washington also boasts Nicklas Backstrom, who paced the NHL with 63 helpers on the campaign.
The Islanders blue line is banged up, but the team is confident that even without Travis Hamonic (lower-body) it is ready to go.
"With our group, we have a lot of guys that are NHL-ready or have played in the NHL, so it's time for guys to step up," blue liner Johnny Boychuk said per NHL.com "They don't need to try to fill the void, but just try to play their game and try to help the team win any way possible."
The Capitals are happy to be back in the playoffs, under new coach Barry Trotz, after missing out last spring.
"It's been a long time since [we've] been in this position, almost [two years], so it's nice to be back," Ovechkin told NHL.com. Everybody is focusing right now. The excitement is there. The first game is always going to be too much excitement, too much energy."
Washington had the best power play in the NHL (25.3%) which doesn't bode well for New York as it finished 26th in the league on the penalty kill (78%), but it had a strong finish to the season.
In net, Washington turns to Braden Holtby, who started a career-high 73 games and had a career-best 41 wins while ranking fifth in the NHL in goals-against average (2.22) and seventh in save percentage (.923).
New York counters with former Capital Jaroslav Halak in the crease and he set a career-high and Islanders single-season franchise record by winning 41 games. Halak, who had an up-and-down campaign, put together a 2.43 GAA and a .914 save percentage while he ranked tied for third in the NHL with six shutouts.
The NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs get underway when the lights come up on the Islanders and Capitals live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C.
© 2023 Sportsworldnews.com All rights reserved. Do not reproduce without permission.
