Capitals at Islanders
The Washington Capitals can punch their ticket into the second round of the playoffs and put the final nail in the coffin for the New York Islanders at Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum when the Metropolitan Division rivals play Game 6 on Saturday afternoon. Evgeny Kuznetsov collected two goals and an assist as Washington posted a 5-1 triumph over New York on Thursday to seize a 3-2 edge in the series.
The Islanders could be playing their last game at the Coliseum, as the team is slated to move to Barclays Center in Brooklyn (N.Y.) next season. "It's obvious that there's a lot of emotion in the building," New York coach Jack Capuano said after Friday's practice. "At some point, it was going to come to this ... We want to play our best in front of this crowd." The Islanders posted a 25-14-2 record at home this season, equaling their most such victories since 1984-85.
TV: 3 p.m. ET, NBC, RSN, TVA
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: After missing Game 2 with an illness, Braden Holtby has stopped 98-of-102 shots in the last three contests for a .961 save percentage. The Saskatchewan native improved to 9-1-2 with a 2.06 goals-against average in 14 lifetime contests versus the Islanders. Nicklas Backstrom leads the Capitals with six points (three goals, three assists) but was held off the scoresheet in Game 5.
ABOUT THE ISLANDERS: New York scored the first goal for the fourth time in five contests when Josh Bailey tallied 5:48 into the first period on Thursday. Captain John Tavares notched an assist to collect at least one point in 10 of his last 11 contests, recording five goals and 11 assists in that span. Jaroslav Halak was relieved after yielding five goals on 35 shots in the loss but will return to the crease for Game 6.
OVERTIME
1. New York has failed on all 12 power-play opportunities in the series while Washington is 1-for-10 with the man advantage.
2. Washington D Karl Alzner recorded a goal and an assist in Game 5 to increase his total to three points in the series. Alzner had scored one goal and set up four others in his previous 31 playoff games.
3. The winner of this series will face the Presidents' Trophy-winning New York Rangers, who eliminated Pittsburgh in five games during their first-round series.