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Home Cooking: New York Islanders Begin Six-Game Homestand with Caps
The New York Islanders begin a six-game homestand tonight when they host the Washington Capitals at the Nassau Coliseum. New York will be looking to stop a two-game losing streak and curb a recurring issue they’ve been having over the last four games.
The Islanders have gotten off to sluggish starts over their previous four games, which has cost them in back-to-back contests against the Pittsburgh Penguins. A win tonight would tie the Islanders with Washington for the division lead, while a loss coupled with a Pittsburgh win would drop them down to third in the division.
Tonight also begins a month where the Islanders face Washington on five different occasions.
📹 Bailey Pregame Availability 📹 pic.twitter.com/WxiLBgr0rQ
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 1, 2021
“We know that there’s games to come against them as the month goes on,” Josh Bailey said this morning. “You really just focus one at a time. They’ve kind of had our number thus far. It goes that way sometimes and we still have opportunities here to get the wins.”
The Islanders have dropped all three previous meetings against Washington thus far this season. Their most recent loss came in the form of a 3-1 defeat in Washington D.C. on March 16. Four of their five meetings coming up will be at the Nassau Coliseum.
When the Islanders hit the ice they will do so without Michael Dal Colle for the third consecutive game. Dal Colle missed practice on Wednesday and has been dealing with a lower-body injury,
📹 Trotz Pregame Availability 📹 pic.twitter.com/CrXXLTFtl3
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) April 1, 2021
Despite Dal Colle not being available tonight, Kieffer Bellows will not be in the lineup. Islanders head coach Barry Trotz said Bellows made it a tough decision and that he will be a very good pro.
“He has a lot of detail. He can score,” Trotz said about Bellows. “He’s got a really good shot. I think down the stretch Kieffer is going to be a pretty important piece for us down the stretch.”
Noah Dobson will return to the Islanders lineup tonight after missing eight games due to COVID-19.
New York Islanders Lineup (Projected)
Leo Komarov — Mathew Barzal — Jordan Eberle
Anthony Beauvillier — Brock Nelson — Josh Bailey
Ross Johnston — Jean-Gabriel Pageau — Oliver Wahlstrom
Matt Martin — Casey Cizikas — Cal Clutterbuck
Adam Pelech — Ryan Pulock
Nick Leddy — Scott Mayfield
Andy Greene — Noah Dobson
Ilya Sorokin
Semyon Varlamov
Washington Capitals Lineup (Projected)
Conor Sheary — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson
Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — T.J. Oshie
Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Daniel Sprong
Carl Hagelin — Nic Dowd — Garnet Hathaway
Brenden Dillon — John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov — Justin Schultz
Zdeno Chara — Nick Jensen
Ilya Samsonov
Vitek Vanecek
How to Watch
Tonight’s game will air locally on MSG+ and stream on NHL.tv. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN Radio, 88.7 FM WRHU and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.