Team gets a chance to get away record back on plus side with back-to-back games in N.Y. and Ottawa
After moving one small step closer to the top of the Eastern Conference, the Capitals prepared Sunday for their two remaining games before the NHL All-Star break begins later this week.
Washington will be out of town for the District’s inauguration festivities with a game at the New York Islanders today at 2 p.m. followed by a trip to the capital city of Canada on Tuesday to face the Ottawa Senators.
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The Caps have a losing record on the road this season at 10-11-2. But they have an opportunity to change that over the next two days, playing two of the conference’s three worst teams. The Islanders (12-29-4, 28 points) have by far the fewest points in the NHL, nine less than Atlanta (16-25-5, 37 points) and Ottawa (15-21-7, 37 points) — the Stanley Cup runner-up just 18 months ago. The Senators are in last place in the Northeast Division and tied with Atlanta for 13th in the conference and 28th overall out of 30 NHL teams.
Not that Washington can afford to take anyone lightly. The last time the Caps played the Islanders at Nassau Coliseum, they lost a two-goal lead in the third period and needed an overtime goal by Alex Ovechkin to escape with the win on Dec. 16.
That victory was part of a five-game winning streak that was soon followed by a seven-game winning streak. Washington (29-14-3, 61 points) finally cooled off with three losses in a row to Columbus, Montreal and Edmonton last week — two of those at Verizon Center, where it has been almost unbeatable this season. But the Caps have apparently put that dip behind them after wins over Pittsburgh on Wednesday and Boston on Saturday.
“Sometimes good things happen in defeat and — for two games at least — I think [losing] opened our eyes,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “We saw a lot of video and realized we’re getting away from our game.”
