Pre-Game: Capitals @ Islanders

After two days of much needed rest, the Capitals return to action facing the New York Islanders at Nassau Coliseum.

Brent Johnson will likely be the starter tonight. Although I would want to go with the hot hand (Varly), Johnson has won four games in a row, including a 5-2 victory against the Islanders on December 4th. That was his first victory against the franchise (1-6).

The Islanders actually have not won since the Capitals defeated them earlier in December. The Isles are 1-8 in their last nine and are in a familiar spot at the bottom of the Atlantic Division.

Washington has yet to lose to the Atlantic Division in regulation, going 4-0-2. They have played every team except Philadelphia, who will host the Capitals this Saturday.

• New York ranks last in goals for/against ratio in 5-on-5 play.
• Tampa Bay (3-6-5) and the Islanders (5-8-1) are the only teams under .500 at home by three games or more.
• The Isles rank 4th in penalty minutes behind ANA, VAN, and PHI.
• Alex Ovechkin has the worst point-per-game ratio against the New York teams. He averages just one point a game against the Rangers (13 points in 13 games) and the Islanders (12 points in 12 games).
• Viktor Kozlov has 24 points in 40 games against his former team...He played for the Islanders in the 2006-2007 season (51 points in 81 games).

Exam week is halfway home and as you can tell by the time stamp of this post, it is/going to be a long week...But it should be worth it in the end, and when the Capitals win it increases my spirits even more. Just three more days til I go back to my home in Arlington!