Tonight at 7:00 p.m. ET, the New York Islanders (6-5-3, 15 points) and Washington Capitals (7-7-0, 14 points) go head-to-head for the first of four meetings this season live from the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. The game can be live streamed here. New York fans can hear all of the action by tuning their dials to WRHU 88.7 FM while Washington fans can do the same on WFED 1500 AM.
The Islanders enter play in second place in the Metropolitan Division, seven points behind the first place Pittsburgh Penguins while the Capitals are in third place and eight points behind the Pens. Both teams enter tonight with two-game winning streaks and will look to bring their streaks to three straight at the expense of their opponent.
Washington captain Alex Ovechkin is likely to return to the lineup tonight after missing two games with a shoulder injury. Ovechkin has a team-high 10 goals and five assists for 15 points this season and looks to help Washington win its third straight after a 7-0 victory over the Philadelphia Flyers Friday and a 3-2 shootout win over the Florida Panthers on Saturday.
"We won a couple of different ways," defenseman Steve Oleksy said per NHL.com. "[Friday] we proved to ourselves that we can win that way. [Saturday's game] was closer than we wanted it to be, but down the stretch, we found a way, which is important."
Nicklas Backstrom is the only Capital with more points than Ovechkin, notching five tallies and pacing the team with 11 helpers for 16 points.
New York enters off a two-game winning streak after defeating the Ottawa Senators Friday and the Boston Bruins on Saturday.
"We've had some games at home slip away from us here, so it's going to be important to get some points on the trip," right wing Cal Clutterbuck told the team's website Monday. "[We need to] keep it simple. We played a pretty efficient road game in Ottawa, so we are trying to emulate that as much as possible and give ourselves the best chance at coming back with as many points as possible."
The Islanders have been led by Kyle Okposo, who has four goals and 13 assists for 17 points while Frans Nielsen has eight goals and eight assists for 16 points, John Tavares has six tallies and nine helpers for 15 points and newly acquired Thomas Vanek has 12 points off of five goals and seven assists.
The Islanders will likely have to beat Braden Holtby, who has started 11 games and is 5-5-0 with a 2.75 goals-against average and a .921 save percentage while Evgeni Nabokov has started 11 games as well, posting a 5-3-3 record with a 2.92 GAA and a .903 save percentage.
The Islanders and Capitals both look for their third straight victory when the puck drops at the Verizon Center in Washington, D.C. tonight.
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