Capitals @ Islanders

Who will WIN this matchup?

Washington Capitals (13-7-3)

@ New York Islanders (12-8-2)

Starting Goalies:

Braden Holtby (WSH): Confirmed

Thomas Greiss (NYI): Confirmed

Current odds:

Washington Capitals: (-120)

New York Islanders: (+100)

• While Trotz is turning the Islanders into a contender again, Washington is beginning to resemble the team that won its first title last campaign after extending its season-high winning streak to five games with a 5-3 win at the New York Rangers on Saturday. “This is the way we want to play,” Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom told reporters. “We’ve got to keep building and playing the way we are. It’s still early, you don’t find out what kind of identity you have until playoffs come, but we’re in a good spot now.”

• The Islanders are three points behind division-leading Washington with one game in hand after winning two in a row, including a convincing 4-1 victory over Carolina on Saturday. “We just played a good team game,” Islanders goaltender Thomas Greiss told reporters after improving to 8-3-1 with a 26-save performance. “We didn’t give them too many chances. We scored early and took the momentum away.”

• Captain Alex Ovechkin has been on a roll as he has recorded five of his team-leading 17 goals, along with two assists, in the last five games and tops the team with 27 points – two more than Backstrom (19 assists). Evgeny Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie both are expected to miss their sixth straight game due to head injuries, and Jakub Vrana has stepped up in their absence with five points in four contests. Tom Wilson also has made a big difference since returning from a lengthy suspension, posting four goals and five assists in seven games.

• Valtteri Filppula, who is slated to play in his 899th NHL game on Monday, scored the first goal Saturday after setting up a pair of tallies in a win over New Jersey the previous day. “I probably didn’t have the appreciation for what he does, all the little things,” Trotz told reporters of Filppula. “You see a guy day in, day out, I get it. Totally. He’s come in and done exactly what (general manager Lou Lamoriello) wanted and he’s been a big part of any success we have.” Josh Bailey leads the team with 21 points and Mathew Barzal has notched eight of his 20 in the last eight games.

• Ovechkin has 624 career goals after his recent surge, moving within one of Joe Sakic and Jarome Iginla for 15th place on the all-time list

• Bailey is two points away from 400 for his career while Islanders RW Cal Clutterbuck (99) and C Brock Nelson (98) are closing in on 100 assists.

• The Capitals have won three of the last four meetings, scoring a total of 13 goals in the last two victories.