Pre-Cap: Capitals vs Islanders

Good lord, that logo is terrible. Thankfully it never came to be, and we won't have to see it on the Islanders' chests. With that said, Boudreau is steaming, the team is healing and the fans...well...let's just get a win at home.

Washington Capitals (13-9-3, last game 5-3 loss to Florida)
vs.
New York Islanders (10-12-2, last game 4-2 win over Ottawa)

The story so far...
For the second and last time, the Capitals were blacked out by national TV. Thankfully the home audience didn't have to see what was considered one of the Capitals' worst efforts. With the injury bug possibly beginning to dissipate with the possible returns of Fedorov and Green to the lineup, the Capitals need to get going now so they can take advantage of the reinforcements later.

Key Players
WSH: Tomas Fleischmann
6 goals and 10 points in the past 10 games. Flash eclipsed his point totals from last season in just two months. Boudreau called on his team's secondary players to start scoring, and while Flash isn't necessarily secondary, he just might lead the charge.
NYI: Brendan Witt
The former Cap, a rugged, no-nonsense enforcer, is coming home. He only has one assist in seven games againse the Capitals, but, hey, with his body-checking let's just hope he doesn't hurt anyone else.

Say it ain't so Johnny
0-6 with a 4.52 GAA. That's Johnson's career numbers against the Islanders. By the way, he's likely to start. Good luck, Johnny! On the flip side, Jose Theodore is 12-9-1 against the Isles and has posted 5 shutouts against them. Maybe Boudreau should flip the switch based on history alone?

Professor Witt
Want to learn the finer points in body checking? Former Cap Brendan Witt is here to guide you.



And I thought we were injured...
The Islanders injury report? Oh just eight guys, including franchise goaltender Rick DiPietro.
Goaltender Rick DiPietro is out.
Defenseman Bruno Gervais is out.
Defenseman Radek Martinek is day-to-day.
Center Mike Comrie is out.
Center Frans Nielsen is out.
Center Mike Sillinger is day-to-day.
Left wing Nate Thompson is day-to-day.
Right wing Kyle Okposo is out.

Another installment of "terrible team commercials"
Anyone else find it funny that Chris Campoli and Mike Sillinger have no clue how to fix a motor vehicle, but the Islanders ice girls are protrayed as pros?



Instead of a high-five, the two of them should have been slapped.

And they suspended Sean Avery for his potty mouth...
Rick DiPietro was mic'd up for the NHL All-Star game last season and he helps justify why sports have five-second delays these days. At least he didn't wardrobe malfunction.



Your special teams matchup...
The Capitals are still the 10th best powerplay in the league, but they have now dropped to 25th in terms of penalty killing. I wonder how much the PK unit misses Semin, Fedorov and Clark? For the Islanders, the special teams play is middle of the pack. The Islanders have the 16th ranked power play, and the 12th ranked penalty kill.

LET'S GO CAPS!