Capitals at Islanders
The Washington Capitals are not going to win a third consecutive Presidents' Trophy but they are in a tug-of-war with two-time defending Stanley Cup champion Pittsburgh for first place in the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals will look to win three in a row for the first time in two months when they visit the New York Islanders on Thursday night.
It is the first leg of a home-and-home, back-to-back for Washington, which will honor captain Alex Ovechkin for scoring his 600th goal prior to Friday's rematch against the Islanders. "You look at the standings and every point matters now," Capitals goaltender Philipp Grubauer said. "You lose one, you drop. You win one, you're back in first (place). So we've got to play the right way. We keep playing teams that are fighting for (playoff) spots, and so are we. We are fighting for the points here." New York spiraled out of playoff contention with an eight-game losing streak (0-4-4), a slide it finally halted with a 5-2 victory at Calgary on Tuesday night. “We know we’ve got to go on a big run,” coach Doug Weight said. “It’s going to start with one game. We have to plan for Thursday like it’s April 8 and go from there.”
TV: 7 p.m. ET, Sportsnet 360, NBCS Washington, MSG Plus (New York)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (39-23-7): Ovechkin became the fourth player to reach 600 goals in fewer than 1,000 games when he scored twice in Monday's 3-2 win over Winnipeg to boost his NHL-leading total to 42. "He said the other day 40's good but 50's nicer and he's going to get 50 goals," Washington owner Ted Leonsis said. "You can just tell he's very, very determined and he is a historic player." Backup Grubauer will make his fourth consecutive start in Thursday's game, with slumping Braden Holtby set to start Friday.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (30-29-10): New York is in 11th place in the East but has a chance to make up some ground by playing six of its next seven and nine of its final 13 at home. The Islanders got a huge lift from rookie Christopher Gibson, who turned aside 50 shots against the Flames in his third start since he was acquired from Toronto. “He’s been playing really well,” defenseman Johnny Boychuk said. “When he’s been in net, he’s been stopping a lot of pucks. Even the one in Edmonton went off a stick and off his head and in.”
OVERTIME
1. Islanders F Anders Lee scored twice Sunday and needs one goal to match his career high of 34 set last season.
2. Ovechkin has been blanked in both meetings against the Islanders this season but has 34 goals in 48 career matchups.
3. New York is 2-for-22 on the power play over the past 10 games.