Today, the Caps are on Long Island to take on the New York Islanders. Some Isles news:
- Evgeni Nabokov will get the nod to start between the pipes. In two career games against Washington, he has a 1-0 record with a 1.48 GAA, a .941 save percentage, and 1 shutout.
- The Islanders second leading scorer P.A. Parenteau will not be in the lineup tonight. Coach Jack Capuano said during his press conference that Parenteau has an upper body injury and is listed as day-to-day.
- Forward lines for the Islanders will be as follows: Moulson–Tavares–Okposo; Grabner–Nielsen–Bailey; Ullstrom–Cizikas–Niederreiter; Martin–Reasoner–Pandolfo.
- What to watch for- Isles Edition: Matt Moulson is only one goal away from reaching his 3rd consecutive 30-goal season.
Now, some news from the homefront:
- Although Tomas Vokoun was the first goaltender off the ice this morning, head coach Dale Hunter said that Vokoun is not the definitive starter and it will be a game-time decision.
- John Erskine and Jeff Halpern will be the healthy scratches tonight, while Mike Green will be serving the final game of his three-game suspension.
- Capitals lines and pairings are as follows: Johansson–Laich–Ovechkin; Chimera–Perreault–Semin; Hendricks–Beagle–Brouwer; Knuble–Aucoin–Ward; Alzner–Carlson; Schultz–Wideman; Hamrlik–Orlov.
- Karl Alzner talked about how to stop Tavares and Company: “You know, those guys are pretty tough. They’re young and they’re having fun. That’s a dangerous combination. It reminds me of playing summer hockey. You’re playing against these guys and they have so much skill. It seems like there is no pressure on them and they just go out and make these plays that are so hard to stop. It kinda seems like that. They just go out there and play some hockey. The only way to defend it is to work harder than them and to play harder than them and to make sure that you’re close to them at all times.”
- What to watch for- Caps Edition: Marcus Johansson is one goal away from setting a career record for goals in one season. He tied a personal best on March 6th in the game against Carolina.
Tune in at 7 PM to find out if the Capitals can make it a four-game winning streak.
