Caps Gameday Preview: Metropolitan Division Matchup with Islanders
Middle of the pack Metropolitan Division Friday night matchup
Welcome to THW Washington Capitals’ Game Preview, where we discuss every upcoming Capitals game. Before each contest, we will look at the Capitals’ projected lineups, notes, and more.
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Now, let’s get this preview started!
The Capitals (17-10-5) who are fifth in the Metropolitan Division will be taking on the Islanders (16-9-9) who are fourth in the Metropolitan Division. These two teams battled each other on December 20th, 2023 and the Capitals came out victorious with a 3-2 win so the Islanders will be looking for revenge.
The Capitals are coming off a loss to the New York Rangers right after the holiday break ended and will be looking to bounce back while the Islanders are coming off a terrible 7-0 loss to the Penguins.
Let’s now take a look at both teams’ projected lineup, game notes, and more.
Capitals’ Projected Lines:
Ovechkin - McMichael - Wilson
Protas - Strome - Mantha
Lapierre - Kuznetsov - Phillips
Malenstyn - Dowd - Aube-Kubel
Fehevary - Carlson
Sandin - Van Riemsdyk
Edmundson - Jensen
Lindgren
Islanders’ Projected Lines:
Lee - Horvat - Barzal
Engvall - Nelson - Palmieri
Holmstrom - Pageau - Wahlstrom
Fasching - Cizikas - Clutterbuck
Romanov - Dobson
Bolduc - Bortuzzo
Reilly - Aho
Sorokin
Both the Capitals and Islanders have been decent to start the 2023-24 season and sit in the middle of the Metropolitan Division. The Islanders come into the game with injuries to goaltender Semyon Varlamov and defenseman Ryan Pulock while the Capitals will be without forwards T.J. Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom.
The Capitals have been much worse offensively, scoring 2.34 goals per game while the Islanders have scored 3.03 per game this season. Defensively, the Capitals have been better allowing only 2.75 goals per game while the Islanders have allowed 3.29 goals per game.
The game starts at 5:30 pm MT/7:30 pm EST