With the series tied at 1 game a piece the Caps and Islanders faceoff in Game 3 as the series shifts to the Nassau Coliseum which will be a very tough environment. They Islanders took it to the Caps for the first game and a half but then the Caps came to life an dominated the end of Game 2 to tie the series. Here is the lineup based on practice yesterday.
Forwards:
Ovechkin-Backstrom-Ward
Johansson-Kuznetsov-Brouwer
Chimera-Fehr-Beagle
Glencross-Laich-Wilson
Defense and Goalies:
Orpik-Carlson
Alzner-Niskanen
Gleason-Green
Holtby
Peters/Grubauer
Other Notes:
*First things first Braden Holtby is expected to play as he practiced yesterday and said he is over the illness he had on Friday. However, Philip Grubauer did make the trip just in case but all signs are pointing toward Holtby returning today.
*Nick Backstrom will be will Alex Ovechkin again to atleast start the game today. Barry Trotz though has juggled lines a lot for matchups. It will be tough doing that today with it being a road game.
*Important thing for today is the Caps have to weather the storm in the first 10 minutes, after that things will settle down into a regular game. I expect the Islanders to come out flying with their home crowd behind them. Know that the days in Nassau Coliseum are going to come to an end once the Islanders season ends.
*Matt Niskanen and Karl Alzner had a great game together on Friday, they were vital in helping the Caps sustain pressure on the Islanders. If they can do that today it will keep the talented Islander forwards in the defensive zone.
*The Caps have to watch Ryan Strome, he has played very well in this series. It is important to watch were he is when John Tavares has the puck.
*Kyle Okposo is another guy the Caps will need to watch out for as he seems to be getting hot with his goal in Game 2, also the Caps have to be solid against every line for the Islanders. They are well balanced through 4 lines, even Cal Clutterbuck can score. However, in Game 2 the Caps were able to apply the pressure so that's what they need to do today as well.
*The comeback on Friday also was spirited by the forecheck, there were times were the Caps just were not going to allow the Islanders to get the puck out the zone till they were dead tired. It's that will and determination the Caps need from here on out to be successful.
*Overall this should be a fun/nerve wrecking game in Long Island today. We knew coming in that this would be a tough series, that it would be a battle. However, after Friday's effort I feel a little better about the Caps as the series shifts. However, in the Stanley Cup Playoffs the momentum can shift game to game. We will see if the Caps can carry what they did in Game 2 over to Game 3 this afternoon.
Gametime 12:00 noon on NBC
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