Once Upon A Time In Las Vegas – Wildcard Edition
The Washington Capitals (23-16-6, 52 points 4th Metro) pay a visit to Elmont, New York and the UBS Arena on Monday to play against Metropolitan division rival the New York Islanders (23-18-3, 49 points, 6th Metro). Washington lost to the Philadelphia Flyers 3-1 on Saturday and were swept by Philadelphia in a home/away series after losing the first on the road 5-3 Wednesday. New York snapped a four game losing streak when defeating the Montreal Canadiens 2-1 on Saturday. Washington will play without Connor Brown, John Carlson and Carl Hagelin. New York will play without Kyle Palmieri, Adam Pelech and Oliver Wahlstrom.
Washington is allowing an average of just 2.76 goals per game which is 9th in the NHL. Washington is allowing an average of 30.4 shots per game which is 11th in the league and the penalty kill unit for the Capitals is 11th, holding opponents scoreless 80.6% of the time Washington is shorthanded. Darcy Kuemper is 12-11-4 with a 2.54 goals against average and .918 save percentage. Kuemper has four shutouts.
Washington is scoring an average of 3.20 goals per game which is 15th in the NHL. The Capitals are averaging 31.6 shots per game which is 16th. Washington's power play is scoring 21.4% of the time the Capitals have the man advantage which is 18th. Alex Ovechkin is the leading goal scorer for Washington with 30, while Conor Sheary and Marcus Johansson each have 11 goals. The leader in assists is Evgeny Kuznetso v with 30 and Dylan Strome is second with 23. Ovechkin is the leader in points with 49. Washington has scored 30 goals on the power play in 45 games.