Game #13
Caps (8-2-2, 18 points) vs. New York Islanders (2-4-5, 9 points)
Wait, didn’t we just do this? It’s a busy, busy stretch for the Caps, who are in the midst of four games in six days. Luckily, three of them are at home, including tonight’s rematch with the New York Islanders. For the second game in a row Washington faces a rested opponent. Atlanta had five days off entering Thursday night’s game. The Islanders did play Wednesday – but that was a home game against the Rangers and they had Thursday to recover. That makes the third-period struggles against the Thrashers harder to take. Caps coach Bruce Boudreau lamented the energy his team wasted holding off Atlanta in a 4-3 win. Washington led 3-0 midway through the second period, but couldn’t put the game away.
We’ll see if that proves costly tonight. Boudreau did limit the ice time of his top players on Thursday. Even after this one the Caps will have less than 48 hours to recover before a 5 p.m. Sunday evening game against Columbus at Verizon Center.
These two teams last met on Long Island last Saturday. New York had a 2-0 lead in the third period, but couldn’t hold it (sound familiar Caps fans?). Instead, Washington rallied thanks to goals by Mike Green, Keith Aucoin and – in overtime – Brooks Laich. The Caps are looking for their seventh win in a row. They have done that twice since Boudreau took over behind the bench on Thanksgiving Day, 2007. A win tonight will set the organization record for best winning percentage in October. Jose Theodore will be in goal. Over his last four games, Theodore has a .939 save percentage and a 2.04 goals-against average. He made 41 saves on Tuesday vs. Philadelphia.
