Series Preview: Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders

 It beginning this time tomorrow night the Caps and Islanders will faceoff in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference 1st Round Series. Here are somethings we need to look for.

Forwards:

  The Caps will get a boost at the forward positions as it looks like Eric Fehr and Jay Beagle will be ready for Game 1. What I want to see from the Caps forwards in this series is to forecheck hard and play fast and heavy. They will also need to try to limit the Islanders speed by being in good position and make their best player defend.
  The Islanders have a good group of forwards lead by John Tavares, and Kyle Okposo along side others. The Caps need to stay out of the box because those guys do damage in space.


Defense:

  The Caps defense is the deepest it's been in the Ovechkin era. It's a good thing because with six solid defensemen Barry Trotz and Todd Reirden can spread minutes out so guys can stay fresh. Many of the Caps defensemen have enjoyed breakout season's, most notably John Carlson.
  The Islanders got a huge boost at the beginning of the season when they acquired Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy. Travis Hamonic will be injured to start the series but the two I mentioned before have helped the Islanders improve.

Goalies:

  Braden Holtby has been great this season, and in my opinion should atleast be nominated for a Vezina as he has been maybe the biggest reason why the Caps are making their return to the Stanley Cup Playoffs. He did play 73 games however he likes the work load so I don't really worry too much about him.
  The Isles have Jaro Halak who in 2010 stole a playoff series against the Caps when he was with the Canadians. Halak played with the Caps last season for the last month or so of the season. Overall he is a good goalie but he is suspect to giving up big goals.

Overall:

 I believe the Caps and Islanders will battle and it will be a fun series to watch. However, I have watched this Caps team all season and I believe more than ever this team is built the right way for the playoffs. With that said the Islanders have a lot of talent as well. At the end of the day I believe the Caps powerplay, improved 5 on 5, and Braden Holtby will be too much for the Islanders. Caps in 6