Caps @ Islanders 12-22-2007 Preview

Washington Capitals (13-22; 29 points) @ New York Islanders (16-17; 34 points):
Caps Game #36, Road Game #19, NHL Game #519

Nassau County Veterans Memorial Coliseum, Uniondale, NY. 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast Sportsnet Mid-Atlantic Plus. Radio: WWWT 1500-AM, 107.7-FM New York TV: Fox SportsNet New York. Radio: WBBR 1130-AM. NHL Center Ice: Fox Sportsnet New York feed.

Tonight the Caps play their last game before the Christmas break when the visit Long Island for the second and final time this season. This is the third overall meeting between the two teams this season with the visiting team winning each time. The Islanders sit alone in the bottom of the Atlantic Division but this is not the NHL's Pillow Fight Of The Night (the L.A.-Nashville game has that honor tonight) thanks to the Islanders' 4-2 come from behind win over the Penguin Scum in Pittsburgh last night.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com AP Wire.

Open Source Intelligence:

Newsday.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

Well for starters this game could be a low scoring affair as last night the Islanders scored three or more goals for the first time in 22 games this season. However with the return of John Erskine Bowles to the lineup in the place of the injured Brian Pothier, the Islanders may not have to wait another 22 games to score 3 or more goals. The Islanders boast a Top Ten Penalty Killing unit and Rick DiPietro is the biggest reason why the Islanders season hasn't gone totally to pot yet. The Caps cannot under any circumstance flub their chances on DiPietro like the did on Thursday night or they'll end up with the same result.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 3
Islanders 2
Winner by Ovechkin

(23-12 on the season, a looong winning streak came to an end on Thursday night...)


Editorial Note For The Dozens of Readers of This Blog:

As you may have noticed, Christmas is coming up soon. And because certain family members who live in the D.C. area have decided to travel for the holiday, I'll be getting together with those family members tonight. Therefore I doubt we'll be watching much of the hockey game so there will be no Post-Mortem later tonight.