Pregame Notes: Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders Game 2

 With a busy day for me tomorrow I figured I'd shift gears to Game 2 and leave Game 1 behind. The Caps face their first must win game of the 2015 Playoffs. After a sub par Game 1 the boys will look to respond like they have done all year. Since their was an optional skate today I will post the lineup after the morning skate tomorrow.

Other Notes:

*John Carlson and Matt Niskanen did not play well in Game 1, both will need to step it up if the Caps are going to even the series.

*Marcus Johansson was the best player on the ice in Game 1, we will see if Barry Trotz will put him with OV a little more.

*The Caps need to shoot the puck more, they were trying to pass the puck too much and they did not test Jaro Halak enough in my opinion.

*Braden Holtby needs to play a little better too, that first goal was soft. With that said Holts has normally had very strong games following a loss.

*Alex Ovechkin was a little off as well as the entire team was, I expect him to play better in this game. Just needs to play physical and shoot every chance he gets.

*The Caps have to stop trying long passes against the Islanders because they turned the puck over way too much last night.

*The Caps did a good job against the Tavares line last night, and they will need to continue to do so. Josh Baily and Brock Nelson had good games in Game 1 for the Isles and will need to be shut down as well.

*Overall this is the most important game of the season, they guys will have to play with a much better effort. Based on what I have seen under Coach Trotz I expect them to play well in front of the home crowd.


Gametime 7:00 on USA, CSN