Capitals (8-8-6) @ NY Islanders (11-7-3)
From NHL.com's Preview:
Washington (8-8-6) is mired in a season-high five-game losing streak after Saturday's 7-1 rout by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Playing without suspended forwards Donald Brashear and Brian Sutherby as well as injured forward Alexander Semin, backup goaltender Brent Johnson allowed four goals in a 4:10 span of the second period that turned a one-goal game into a 6-1 deficit.
"We certainly didn't want to get embarrassed like that," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "We had all kinds of opportunities to tie it up 2-2 and then we took a couple of penalties.
"After that, it was as if they scored on every opportunity."
Olaf Kolzig, who likely will return to the net for this game, is trying to end a personal three-start winning streak. He has allowed eight goals in his last two starts while making 61 saves.
The 36-year-old netminder is 24-8 with two ties, a 2.29 GAA and three shutouts lifetime versus the Islanders, and he is 11-5 with a 2.44 GAA and one shutout at the Nassau Coliseum.
Alexander Ovechkin, who scored the lone goal for the Capitals in Saturday's loss, has four goals in his last eight games. The reigning Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's best rookie, Ovechkin had two goals and two assists in three games against the Islanders last season.
New York won three of the four games between the teams last season and also has a three-game home winning streak against Washington that includes DiPietro's two shutouts.
From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has two goals and three points in 12 career games against the Islanders … Donald Brashear has three goals and seven points in 31 career games against New York … Steve Eminger has a goal and two points in seven career games against the Isles … Boyd Gordon has two assists in five career games against New York. He picked up his first career NHL point (an assist) against the Islanders on Oct. 9, 2003 … Mike Green has one assist in three career games against New York … Jamie Heward has one goal and two points in eight career games against the Isles … Brent Johnson is 0-4 with a 4.23 goals against average and an .878 save pct. lifetime against the Islanders … Olie Kolzig is 24-8-2 with three shutouts, a 2.29 goals against average and a .911 save pct. lifetime against the Fishermen. He has more wins against the Isles than against any other NHL team, and he picked up his first NHL win against New York on Jan. 27, 1995 … Bryan Muir has two goals and three points in nine career games against the Islanders … Alex Ovechkin has two goals and four points in three lifetime games against New York … Brian Pothier has four assists in seven career games against the Isles … Alexander Semin has one assist in two career games against New York … Richard Zednik has three goals and nine points in 27 career games against the Islanders … Dainius Zubrus has five goals and 18 points in 34 lifetime tilts against the Fishermen … Jason Blake has six goals and 11 points in 20 career games against Washington. Blake has four goals and nine points in his last seven games … Rick DiPietro is 3-2 with two shutouts and a 2.32 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Sean Hill has two goals and nine points in 42 career games against the Caps. Hill has a goal and three points in his last three games … Trent Hunter has two goals and six points in nine career games against Washington … Viktor Kozlov has nine goals and 18 points in 28 career games against the Caps. Kozlov has four assists in his last four games … Tom Poti has two goals and 10 points in 15 career games against Washington … Miroslav Satan has 24 goals and 35 points in 36 career games vs. the Capitals. Satan has three goals and four points in his last four games … Mike Sillinger has three goals and 12 points in 27 career games against the Caps … Chris Simon has three goals and four points in eight career games against the Capitals … Alexei Yashin has 20 goals and 44 points in 42 career games vs. Washington. Yashin has five goals and nine points in his last seven games … Mike York has six goals and eight points in 18 career games vs. the Caps … Alexei Zhitnik has three goals and a dozen points in 41 career games against Washington.
Injuries
New York Islanders
No significant injuries.
Washington
Left wing Alexander Semin has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
New York
Forwards
12-Simon, 79-Yashin, 55-Blake
81-Satan, 16-York, 7-Hunter
11-Hilbert, 18-Sillinger, 25-Kozlov
10-Park, 17-Bates, 45-Asham
Defensemen
3-Poti, 8-Gervais
6-Hill, 77-Zhitnik
24-Martinek, 32-Witt
Goaltenders
1-Dunham, 39-DiPietro
Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
18-Pettinger, 38-Klepis, 14-Fehr
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
21-Laich, 15-Gordon, 20-Zednik
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
47-Muir, 52-Green
4-Erskine, 44-Eminger
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig
Team Leaders: WSH - NYI
Goals: Ovechkin (14) - Blake (12)
Assists: Pothier (12) - Yashin (16)
Points: Ovechkin (24) - Yashin (26)
+/-: Clark (4) - Zhitnik (11)
Team Stats (Rank): WSH - NYI
Goals for/game: 2.82 (17) - 2.71 (20)
Goals against/game: 3.27 (24) - 2.62 (9)
Power Play Pct.: 16.4 (15) - 16.0 (18)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 81.1 (22) - 80.8 (24)
The JET's Take:
It's been a while, but I still know how to do this. The Caps have had 5 lackluster performances in a row and--no surprise--they've lost all 5. Plain and simply, the Caps need to step up from the way they've been playing if they want to win. The Islanders (another overacheiving team) have been hot of late. On the day after a game on the road, the Caps don't have it in them to win.
Washington (8-8-6) is mired in a season-high five-game losing streak after Saturday's 7-1 rout by the Toronto Maple Leafs.
Playing without suspended forwards Donald Brashear and Brian Sutherby as well as injured forward Alexander Semin, backup goaltender Brent Johnson allowed four goals in a 4:10 span of the second period that turned a one-goal game into a 6-1 deficit.
"We certainly didn't want to get embarrassed like that," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "We had all kinds of opportunities to tie it up 2-2 and then we took a couple of penalties.
"After that, it was as if they scored on every opportunity."
Olaf Kolzig, who likely will return to the net for this game, is trying to end a personal three-start winning streak. He has allowed eight goals in his last two starts while making 61 saves.
The 36-year-old netminder is 24-8 with two ties, a 2.29 GAA and three shutouts lifetime versus the Islanders, and he is 11-5 with a 2.44 GAA and one shutout at the Nassau Coliseum.
Alexander Ovechkin, who scored the lone goal for the Capitals in Saturday's loss, has four goals in his last eight games. The reigning Calder Trophy winner as the NHL's best rookie, Ovechkin had two goals and two assists in three games against the Islanders last season.
New York won three of the four games between the teams last season and also has a three-game home winning streak against Washington that includes DiPietro's two shutouts.
From Mike Vogel's washingtoncaps.com short shifts, injuries and probable lines:
Short Shifts: Matt Bradley has two goals and three points in 12 career games against the Islanders … Donald Brashear has three goals and seven points in 31 career games against New York … Steve Eminger has a goal and two points in seven career games against the Isles … Boyd Gordon has two assists in five career games against New York. He picked up his first career NHL point (an assist) against the Islanders on Oct. 9, 2003 … Mike Green has one assist in three career games against New York … Jamie Heward has one goal and two points in eight career games against the Isles … Brent Johnson is 0-4 with a 4.23 goals against average and an .878 save pct. lifetime against the Islanders … Olie Kolzig is 24-8-2 with three shutouts, a 2.29 goals against average and a .911 save pct. lifetime against the Fishermen. He has more wins against the Isles than against any other NHL team, and he picked up his first NHL win against New York on Jan. 27, 1995 … Bryan Muir has two goals and three points in nine career games against the Islanders … Alex Ovechkin has two goals and four points in three lifetime games against New York … Brian Pothier has four assists in seven career games against the Isles … Alexander Semin has one assist in two career games against New York … Richard Zednik has three goals and nine points in 27 career games against the Islanders … Dainius Zubrus has five goals and 18 points in 34 lifetime tilts against the Fishermen … Jason Blake has six goals and 11 points in 20 career games against Washington. Blake has four goals and nine points in his last seven games … Rick DiPietro is 3-2 with two shutouts and a 2.32 goals against average lifetime against the Capitals … Sean Hill has two goals and nine points in 42 career games against the Caps. Hill has a goal and three points in his last three games … Trent Hunter has two goals and six points in nine career games against Washington … Viktor Kozlov has nine goals and 18 points in 28 career games against the Caps. Kozlov has four assists in his last four games … Tom Poti has two goals and 10 points in 15 career games against Washington … Miroslav Satan has 24 goals and 35 points in 36 career games vs. the Capitals. Satan has three goals and four points in his last four games … Mike Sillinger has three goals and 12 points in 27 career games against the Caps … Chris Simon has three goals and four points in eight career games against the Capitals … Alexei Yashin has 20 goals and 44 points in 42 career games vs. Washington. Yashin has five goals and nine points in his last seven games … Mike York has six goals and eight points in 18 career games vs. the Caps … Alexei Zhitnik has three goals and a dozen points in 41 career games against Washington.
Injuries
New York Islanders
No significant injuries.
Washington
Left wing Alexander Semin has an upper body injury and is day-to-day.
Possible Line Combos and Defensive Pairings
New York
Forwards
12-Simon, 79-Yashin, 55-Blake
81-Satan, 16-York, 7-Hunter
11-Hilbert, 18-Sillinger, 25-Kozlov
10-Park, 17-Bates, 45-Asham
Defensemen
3-Poti, 8-Gervais
6-Hill, 77-Zhitnik
24-Martinek, 32-Witt
Goaltenders
1-Dunham, 39-DiPietro
Washington
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 9-Zubrus, 17-Clark
18-Pettinger, 38-Klepis, 14-Fehr
10-Bradley, 16-Sutherby, 27-Clymer
21-Laich, 15-Gordon, 20-Zednik
Defensemen
2-Pothier, 26-Morrisonn
47-Muir, 52-Green
4-Erskine, 44-Eminger
Goaltenders
1-Johnson, 37-Kolzig
Team Leaders: WSH - NYI
Goals: Ovechkin (14) - Blake (12)
Assists: Pothier (12) - Yashin (16)
Points: Ovechkin (24) - Yashin (26)
+/-: Clark (4) - Zhitnik (11)
Team Stats (Rank): WSH - NYI
Goals for/game: 2.82 (17) - 2.71 (20)
Goals against/game: 3.27 (24) - 2.62 (9)
Power Play Pct.: 16.4 (15) - 16.0 (18)
Penalty Kill Pct.: 81.1 (22) - 80.8 (24)
The JET's Take:
It's been a while, but I still know how to do this. The Caps have had 5 lackluster performances in a row and--no surprise--they've lost all 5. Plain and simply, the Caps need to step up from the way they've been playing if they want to win. The Islanders (another overacheiving team) have been hot of late. On the day after a game on the road, the Caps don't have it in them to win.
posted by The Jet at 10:12 AM
0 Comments:
Post a Comment
<< Home