Capitals at Islanders
After wrapping up a five-game homestand with four consecutive victories, the Washington Capitals hope to extend their winning streak when they visit the New York Islanders on Monday. Washington has scored at least four goals in each of the triumphs during its run, including Friday's 4-2 win over the New York Rangers.
Nicklas Backstrom scored a goal and set up another as the Capitals squandered a two-goal lead before tallying twice in the final 3:32 of the third period en route to their seventh victory in eight overall contests. The 30-year-old Swede has collected five points in his last two games while captain Alex Ovechkin is riding a four-game streak during which he has notched three goals and five assists. The Islanders return home from a four-game road trip that concluded with their third straight loss, a 3-1 setback at Boston on Saturday. Anders Lee recorded the lone goal to tie captain John Tavares (17) for the team lead while Josh Bailey moved ahead of Tavares for first on the club in scoring, registering an assist for his 32nd point.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN Washington, MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (18-11-1): Backstrom's goal on Friday was the 193rd of his career, tying him with Dave Christian for seventh place on the franchise list. Fourteen of defenseman Matt Niskanen's last 29 career goals have been game-winners, including his lone tally of the season on Friday. Andre Burakovsky has recorded four points in 10 games this season and is one shy of 100 for his career.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (16-10-3): The club will be without Thomas Hickey as the defenseman was placed on injured reserve Sunday with an upper-body injury. Shane Prince, who underwent offseason ankle surgery, was activated from injured reserve and sent to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League for conditioning. Tavares and Lee are the first Islander teammates to have 17 goals by Dec. 9 since 1984, when Brent Sutter and Mike Bossy both hit the mark before the end of November.
OVERTIME
1. The Islanders have allowed a power-play goal in seven consecutive games.
2. Washington is 13-0-0 this season when scoring at least four goals.
3. Tavares needs one assist to tie Stefan Persson (317) for eighth place on the franchise list while G Jaroslav Halak is one win away from matching Rollie Melanson (77) for fifth in team history and Ilya Bryzgalov (221) for 68th all-time in the NHL.