I'm looking hard at the O/U of 5.5 here...I like the under - figure this one plays like a playoff game. Caps trying to get in, Isles with a legit shot at catching Philly - only 4 points back.
From the NY Isles website...NYI is 0-20-3 since 1997 against the Caps. Can that really be possible?
GAME DAY: One More To Go
Washington Capitals (34-32-11-1) at Islanders (38-27-8-4)
Gametime: 7:00 pm EST (FSNY, 1050AM ESPN)
By Kerry Gwydir
Uniondale, NY (April 6) It's the night Islanders fans have been yearning for.
The Islanders can clinch their first playoff berth since the 1993-94 season with a win, tie or, hopefully not, an overtime loss. And wouldn't it be nice to do it against their recent nemesis the Washington Capitals, who own a 20-0-3 record against the Isles in the last 22 meetings between the clubs. The last victory by the Islanders over the Caps came on April 12, 1997 at the old Cap Centre.
The Caps can officially be eliminated from catching the Islanders tonight with a tie or loss. Still, there's a lot to this playoff picture. The Devils won over Atlanta last night, meaning the Jersey-ites are just one point behind the Isles. However, both the Islanders and Devils are closing in on first place Philadelphia. The Islanders have won six of nine (6-2-1), while the Flyers, who play host to Pittsburgh on Saturday, have dropped five straight and are just four points ahead of the Isles.
Tonight's game is not going to be easy, even after the Islanders took three out of a possible four points in their two-game road trip to Buffalo and Boston -- both perennial trouble spots.
Washington is 8-1-1 in its last 10 matchups. They have allowed just four goals in their last four games, including a scoreless tie with Ottawa on Friday. Goaltender Olie Kolzig made 28 saves to help preserve the Capitals' first scoreless tie at home in their 28-year history.
Did You Know?
The Islanders' 88 points this season is highest franchise point total since the 1987-88 squad won the Patrick Division title? That team accumulated 88 points.
Since The Deadline
The Islanders have been playing some of their best hockey of the season since the March 19 trade deadline. In those 10 contests, the Islanders are 6-2-1-1. It's the club's best 10-game stretch since the Islanders went 7-1-1-1 from Oct. 13-Nov. 6 in the midst of the team's 11-1-1-1 start.
Shorthanded Slump
The Islanders were scoring bushels of shorthanded goals prior to the Olympic Break. The team still leads the NHL in that category (17), two more than San Jose. However, the Islanders haven't scored one since Michael Peca's OT thriller defeated the Flyers in Philly, 1-0, before the team went on the Olympic Break on March 12. That's a span of 20 games without a shorthanded tally.
No More 11-Over
The Islanders finally broke through when looking to become 11-games over .500 with their victory in Boston. They were 0-8-4 in games this season attempting to reach that mark. Prior to that, the last time that was accomplished was April 5, 1986. The next day, the Islanders lost and the regular season ended.
You Want 12-Over .500?
Dig back to April 1, 1984 when the 1983-84 Stanley Cup Finalist Islanders were 50-26-4, the last Islander team to be 12-games over .500.
Ozzie Closing In
Chris Osgood is undefeated in six of last seven starts (5-1-1) during this playoff stretch. His 29 wins is the highest amount by an Islander netminder since Bill Smith set a franchise-record 32 in the 1981-82 season.
The Islanders Injury List
D Dick Tarnstrom (wrist strain) is day-to-day. Out for the season are D Radek Martinek (ACL knee surgery) and D Kevin Haller (abdomen).
Season Series
Washington leads, 2-0-1. Mariusz Czerkawski had a hat trick for the Islanders in a 5-5 tie on Nov. 27. In the last meeting on March 30, the Capitals took a 4-2 decision, a game in which Islanders' head coach Peter Laviolette was very disappointed with his team's lack of desire and effort. Colin Forbes broke a 1-1 tie with 9:54 remaining and Dainius Zubrus scored the game's first and last goals to help the Capitals. Darren Van Impe and Kvasha scored for the Islanders, who were without Shawn Bates, Adrian Aucoin and Eric Cairns. Washington did not have high-scoring defenseman Sergei Gonchar available that night.
About Washington
Washington sits one point behind 8th place Montreal for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Yet, it gets interesting from there. The Caps are just three points behind Carolina in the Southeast Division title race. Tonight, Montreal plays host to cellar-dwelling Columbus on while Carolina is idle. Both Montreal and Carolina have a game in hand on Washington.
1050 ESPN RADIO's Chris King's projected lineups
Islanders
Forwards
(17) Shawn Bates-(79) Alexei Yashin-(37) Mark Parrish
(15) Brad Isbister-(27) Michael Peca-(21) Mariusz Czerkawski
(12) Oleg Kvasha-(38) Dave Scatchard-(11) Kip Miller
(55) Jason Blake-(13) Claude Lapointe-(20) Steve Webb
(10) Mats Lindgren, (18) Jim Cummins
Defensemen
(29) Kenny Jonsson-(3) Adrian Aucoin
(28) Darren Van Impe-(4) Roman Hamrlik
(36) Evgeny Korolev-(33) Eric Cairns
(8) Dick Tarnstrom
Goaltenders
(35) Chris Osgood
(30) Garth Snow
Washington
Forwards
(9) Dainius Zubrus-(20) Glen Metropolit-(68) Jaromir Jagr
(17) Chris Simon-(13) Andrei Nikolishin-(12) Peter Bondra
(22) Steve Konowalchuk-(8) Dimitri Khristich-(10) Ulf Dahlen
(33) Benoit Hogue-(36) Colin Forbes-(14) Joe Sacco
Defensemen
(19) Brendan Witt-(58) JF Fortin
(24) Rob Zettler-(55) Sergei Gonchar
(40) Nolan Yonkman-(3) Sylvain Cote
Goaltenders
(37) Olie Kolzig
(1) Craig Billington
Inside The Numbers
STANDINGS:
Capitals: 80 points, 2nd place, three points back, Southeast Division.
Islanders: 88 points, 2nd place, four points back, Atlantic Division.
TEAM LEADERS:
Capitals: Peter Bondra, 39 goals; Jaromir Jagr, 44 assists and 74 points; Chris Simon, 135 PIM.
Islanders: Alexei Yashin, 32 goals, 42 assists and 74 points; Eric Cairns, 174 PIM.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Capitals: Power play: 19.7 percent (57 for 290), 3rd in NHL. Penalty killing: 81.5 percent (255 for 313), 26th in NHL.
Islanders: Power play: 16.5 percent (56 for 340), 11th. Penalty killing: 84.9 percent (286 for 337), 14th.
GOALTENDERS:
Capitals: Olie Kolzig (31-28-7, 6 SO, 2.78 GAA); Craig Billington (4-5-3, 3.04).
Islanders: Chris Osgood (29-24-6, 4, 2.53); Snow (8-7-2, 2, 2.85).
ROAD/HOME RECORDS:
Capitals: 14-20-5-0 away from MCI Center.
Islanders: 19-12-5-2 at Nassau Coliseum.
From the NY Isles website...NYI is 0-20-3 since 1997 against the Caps. Can that really be possible?
GAME DAY: One More To Go
Washington Capitals (34-32-11-1) at Islanders (38-27-8-4)
Gametime: 7:00 pm EST (FSNY, 1050AM ESPN)
By Kerry Gwydir
Uniondale, NY (April 6) It's the night Islanders fans have been yearning for.
The Islanders can clinch their first playoff berth since the 1993-94 season with a win, tie or, hopefully not, an overtime loss. And wouldn't it be nice to do it against their recent nemesis the Washington Capitals, who own a 20-0-3 record against the Isles in the last 22 meetings between the clubs. The last victory by the Islanders over the Caps came on April 12, 1997 at the old Cap Centre.
The Caps can officially be eliminated from catching the Islanders tonight with a tie or loss. Still, there's a lot to this playoff picture. The Devils won over Atlanta last night, meaning the Jersey-ites are just one point behind the Isles. However, both the Islanders and Devils are closing in on first place Philadelphia. The Islanders have won six of nine (6-2-1), while the Flyers, who play host to Pittsburgh on Saturday, have dropped five straight and are just four points ahead of the Isles.
Tonight's game is not going to be easy, even after the Islanders took three out of a possible four points in their two-game road trip to Buffalo and Boston -- both perennial trouble spots.
Washington is 8-1-1 in its last 10 matchups. They have allowed just four goals in their last four games, including a scoreless tie with Ottawa on Friday. Goaltender Olie Kolzig made 28 saves to help preserve the Capitals' first scoreless tie at home in their 28-year history.
Did You Know?
The Islanders' 88 points this season is highest franchise point total since the 1987-88 squad won the Patrick Division title? That team accumulated 88 points.
Since The Deadline
The Islanders have been playing some of their best hockey of the season since the March 19 trade deadline. In those 10 contests, the Islanders are 6-2-1-1. It's the club's best 10-game stretch since the Islanders went 7-1-1-1 from Oct. 13-Nov. 6 in the midst of the team's 11-1-1-1 start.
Shorthanded Slump
The Islanders were scoring bushels of shorthanded goals prior to the Olympic Break. The team still leads the NHL in that category (17), two more than San Jose. However, the Islanders haven't scored one since Michael Peca's OT thriller defeated the Flyers in Philly, 1-0, before the team went on the Olympic Break on March 12. That's a span of 20 games without a shorthanded tally.
No More 11-Over
The Islanders finally broke through when looking to become 11-games over .500 with their victory in Boston. They were 0-8-4 in games this season attempting to reach that mark. Prior to that, the last time that was accomplished was April 5, 1986. The next day, the Islanders lost and the regular season ended.
You Want 12-Over .500?
Dig back to April 1, 1984 when the 1983-84 Stanley Cup Finalist Islanders were 50-26-4, the last Islander team to be 12-games over .500.
Ozzie Closing In
Chris Osgood is undefeated in six of last seven starts (5-1-1) during this playoff stretch. His 29 wins is the highest amount by an Islander netminder since Bill Smith set a franchise-record 32 in the 1981-82 season.
The Islanders Injury List
D Dick Tarnstrom (wrist strain) is day-to-day. Out for the season are D Radek Martinek (ACL knee surgery) and D Kevin Haller (abdomen).
Season Series
Washington leads, 2-0-1. Mariusz Czerkawski had a hat trick for the Islanders in a 5-5 tie on Nov. 27. In the last meeting on March 30, the Capitals took a 4-2 decision, a game in which Islanders' head coach Peter Laviolette was very disappointed with his team's lack of desire and effort. Colin Forbes broke a 1-1 tie with 9:54 remaining and Dainius Zubrus scored the game's first and last goals to help the Capitals. Darren Van Impe and Kvasha scored for the Islanders, who were without Shawn Bates, Adrian Aucoin and Eric Cairns. Washington did not have high-scoring defenseman Sergei Gonchar available that night.
About Washington
Washington sits one point behind 8th place Montreal for the last spot in the Eastern Conference playoff race. Yet, it gets interesting from there. The Caps are just three points behind Carolina in the Southeast Division title race. Tonight, Montreal plays host to cellar-dwelling Columbus on while Carolina is idle. Both Montreal and Carolina have a game in hand on Washington.
1050 ESPN RADIO's Chris King's projected lineups
Islanders
Forwards
(17) Shawn Bates-(79) Alexei Yashin-(37) Mark Parrish
(15) Brad Isbister-(27) Michael Peca-(21) Mariusz Czerkawski
(12) Oleg Kvasha-(38) Dave Scatchard-(11) Kip Miller
(55) Jason Blake-(13) Claude Lapointe-(20) Steve Webb
(10) Mats Lindgren, (18) Jim Cummins
Defensemen
(29) Kenny Jonsson-(3) Adrian Aucoin
(28) Darren Van Impe-(4) Roman Hamrlik
(36) Evgeny Korolev-(33) Eric Cairns
(8) Dick Tarnstrom
Goaltenders
(35) Chris Osgood
(30) Garth Snow
Washington
Forwards
(9) Dainius Zubrus-(20) Glen Metropolit-(68) Jaromir Jagr
(17) Chris Simon-(13) Andrei Nikolishin-(12) Peter Bondra
(22) Steve Konowalchuk-(8) Dimitri Khristich-(10) Ulf Dahlen
(33) Benoit Hogue-(36) Colin Forbes-(14) Joe Sacco
Defensemen
(19) Brendan Witt-(58) JF Fortin
(24) Rob Zettler-(55) Sergei Gonchar
(40) Nolan Yonkman-(3) Sylvain Cote
Goaltenders
(37) Olie Kolzig
(1) Craig Billington
Inside The Numbers
STANDINGS:
Capitals: 80 points, 2nd place, three points back, Southeast Division.
Islanders: 88 points, 2nd place, four points back, Atlantic Division.
TEAM LEADERS:
Capitals: Peter Bondra, 39 goals; Jaromir Jagr, 44 assists and 74 points; Chris Simon, 135 PIM.
Islanders: Alexei Yashin, 32 goals, 42 assists and 74 points; Eric Cairns, 174 PIM.
SPECIAL TEAMS:
Capitals: Power play: 19.7 percent (57 for 290), 3rd in NHL. Penalty killing: 81.5 percent (255 for 313), 26th in NHL.
Islanders: Power play: 16.5 percent (56 for 340), 11th. Penalty killing: 84.9 percent (286 for 337), 14th.
GOALTENDERS:
Capitals: Olie Kolzig (31-28-7, 6 SO, 2.78 GAA); Craig Billington (4-5-3, 3.04).
Islanders: Chris Osgood (29-24-6, 4, 2.53); Snow (8-7-2, 2, 2.85).
ROAD/HOME RECORDS:
Capitals: 14-20-5-0 away from MCI Center.
Islanders: 19-12-5-2 at Nassau Coliseum.
