Game #52
Caps (33-12-6, 72 points) at New York Islanders (23-21-8, 54 points)
The Caps have to lose at some point, right? Their streak stands at six in a row right now, an interesting mix of dominant performances (6-1 over Toronto), emotional road wins (6-3 at Pittsburgh) and how-did-we-escape-that-one surprises (5-4 comeback at Florida after being down 4-1; 3-2 win over the Red Wings despite getting outshot 46-23). But tonight looks like a pretty good bet. The frisky Islanders are putting some of their young talent to good use and Dwayne Roloson (2.71 goals-against average, .912 save percentage) has been solid in goal to grab the No. 1 job. New York has made the postseason just four times in the last 14 years. But it also stands just one point out of the Eastern Conference’s final spot heading into tonight. Provided they actually get a new arena built on Long Island – a huge question mark at this point – one of the NHL’s great franchises actually has some hope.
And the Islanders have played the Caps tough this season. All three games have ended in overtime or a shootout. Washington won on Oct. 24 on Long Island, 3-2, on a Brooks Laich overtime goal. The Caps had trailed that one 2-0 in the third period. New York struck back with a 4-3 shootout win six days later at Verizon Center. And the two teams met for third time in 19 days in the District on Nov. 11. The Caps won that one in a shootout, 5-4.
So maybe this is the night Washington has a letdown? Once again, I’m going to go ahead and call this one a close game either way. The last 14 times the Caps and Islanders have played the game has gone past regulation eight times. Washington has three overtime wins in the last six games and a pair of shootout wins over the entire stretch. New York has an overtime win and two shootout victories.
Kyle Okposo (11 G, 24 A) leads the Islanders with center Jon Tavares – the No. 1 pick in last June’s draft – right behind him (17 G, 15 A). Meanwhile, the surprising Matt Moulson continues to produce at left wing (19 G, 13 A). Defenseman Mark Streit (7 G, 22 A), a member of the Swiss Olympic team headed to Vancouver next month, is always a threat on the power play. Josh Bailey (12 G, 13 A) and Frans Nielsen (7 G, 17 A) give New York three productive centers under the age of 25. Tavares is just 19 and Bailey is all of 20. You can see why the Islanders have some hope
According to the twitter feed of Newsday’s Katie Strang, Roloson was first off the ice at this morning’s skate so he should start ahead of the now-healthy Rick DiPietro, who is 2-2 since his long-awaited return from injury. Also, Bailey is a question mark tonight after missing the skate thanks to illness. Jose Theodore is expected in goal for the Caps
