Islanders at Capitals
History was put on hold as Alex Ovechkin was held without a point - let alone, two goals - as the Washington Capitals sustained their worst loss of the season. Undaunted, Ovechkin will once again attempt to become the eighth member of the 700-goal club on Monday when the Capitals conclude their four-game homestand against the New York Islanders.
Ovechkin recorded a hat trick in Washington's 6-4 victory over New York on Jan. 18, an output that highlighted a 14-goal surge in a seven-game stretch that pushed his career total to 698 before Saturday's 7-2 shellacking by Philadelphia. "It was not a good night," Capitals coach Todd Reirden told reporters of the loss to the Flyers. "So it's up to us to get away from the rink (Sunday) and be back ready to play another (Metropolitan Division) opponent and see what our response is." First-place Washington has lost three of its last five games entering Monday's tilt versus the Islanders, who saw their five-game point streak (3-0-2) come to a halt after dropping a 3-1 decision to Tampa Bay on Saturday. Former Capitals goaltender Semyon Varlamov fell to 2-6-1 in his last nine starts despite turning aside 27 shots in a hard-luck loss to the Lightning.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG Plus, NBCS Washington, Sportsnet West, Sportsnet Pacific, TVA
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS (31-16-6): Anthony Beauvillier carries a five-game point streak (three goals, three assists) into Monday's contest after setting up Derick Brassard's power-play goal in the third period against Tampa Bay. "We're just trying to put pucks on net and be on the same page," the 32-year-old Brassard told reporters of the power play. "We're not doing anything special out there. We know how important special teams are. We have 30 games left, the penalty kill, and power play are going to have to be really good for us to make playoffs." Brassard, who is riding a three-game point streak (two goals, two assists), had an assist in New York's last encounter with the Capitals.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (36-14-5): Braden Holtby has come under fire for his less-than-stellar results over the past two months, although defenseman John Carlson didn't want to hear it after the former Vezina Trophy recipient was saddled for seven goals on 25 shots Saturday. "Tonight, we didn't give him anything to work with. ... He kept it as close as humanly possible," Carlson said of Holtby, who has yielded at least four goals in seven of his last 11 appearances. Speaking of Carlson, the trendy Norris Trophy candidate has notched three of his club-best 51 assists against the Islanders in 2019-20.
OVERTIME
1. New York C Brock Nelson has scored two of his team-leading 21 goals versus Washington this season.
2. Capitals C Evgeny Kuznetsov, who tallied twice in a 4-3 loss to the Islanders on New Year's Eve, has three goals in his last four games overall.
3. New York C Mathew Barzal recorded two of his club-best totals in assists (26) and points (44) against Washington this season.