Islanders Game 68: Clutterbuck RETURNS vs. Capitals

EAST MEADOW, NY — After two critical wins earlier in the week, the New York Islanders (34-25-8) close things out against the Washington Capitals (31-28-7) on Saturday. Puck drop is slated for 7:30 PM at UBS Arena.

The Islanders are coming off a comeback win over the Pittsburgh Penguins, and have won three straight games and four of the last five. The Capitals have lost three of their last five games.

MORNING SKATE UPDATES

Cal Clutterbuck took part in line rushes as he will return to the lineup after a 20-game absence. He was activated following the skate.

“Cal’s obviously had a tough stretch over the last few years, but he keeps chipping away and climbing his way back. Obviously, he’s still passionate and wants to be out there […] He’s going to be key if we want to get to where we want to go…”

Jean-Gabriel Pageau was on the ice before the morning skate and stayed on throughout, but did not take part in line rushes as he will miss his 12th straight game.

Lambert shared that he expects Pageau to travel to California.

Semyon Varlamov gets the nod against his former team as he was the first goalie off the ice. His last start came back on Feb. 26, when he stopped all 23 shots for a 4-0 shutout win over the Winnipeg Jets.

“He’s obviously a phenomenal goaltender, and we have a lot of trust in him,” Bo Horvat said. “And we got to play well in front of him tonight.”

NEW YORK ISLANDERS LINES (PROJECTED)

Anders Lee-Bo Horvat-Simon Holmstrom
Zach Parise-Brock Nelson-Kyle Palmieri
Matt Martin-Casey Cizikas-Hudson Fasching
Pierre Engvall-Josh Bailey-Cal Clutterbuck

Adam Pelech-Scott Mayfield
Alexander Romanov-Ryan Pulock
Sebastian Aho-Noah Dobson

Semyon Varlamov
Ilya Sorokin

WASHINGTON CAPITALS LINES (PROJECTED)

ISLANDERS NOTES

Tonight, the New York Islanders host the Washington Capitals in the second of four meetings between the two clubs this season.

The last time these teams met was January 16, when Sebastian Aho, Hudson Fasching and Matt Martin each scored to help the Islanders collect a
point in overtime. The Islanders enter tonight’s game on a five-game point streak (4-0-1), outscoring opponents 16-7 in that span.

The Islanders also have a 7-2-1 record in their last ten games and a 4-1-0 record in their last five games at UBS Arena. Tonight, they will look to earn points against a Metropolitan opponent for the fifth straight game.

FANDUEL BETTING CORNER

Do you think the New York Islanders will beat the Washington Capitals? You can get the Islanders at -132 & +188 on the puck line. The Capitals come in at +110 & +-230 on the reverse puck line.

The over for the contest is 5.5 at -120, with the under at -102.

Check out more FanDuel sports betting odds.

HOW TO WATCH

Saturday’s contest will be available on MSGSN. On the radio dial, the game can be heard on 1050 AM ESPN, 88.7 FM WRHU, and 103.9 FM LI News Radio.