Islanders vs. Capitals, NHL playoffs 2015: Time, TV schedule and how to watch online
The Islanders and Capitals haven’t played in the postseason since 1993. That all changes on Wednesday.
Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
The New York Islanders and Washington Capitals will drop the puck on their playoff series Wednesday night at the Verizon Center in Washington, playing their first postseason games against each other since the 1993 season. It's been a while.
Scouting the Isles
The Islanders had an opportunity to clinch home ice for the first round of the playoffs, but they came up short in a game on April 2 against the Columbus Blue Jackets, losing in the shootout, 4-3. So they'll be making the trip south for the first two games of this series as the No. 3 seed against the No. 2 seed Capitals.
Entering the postseason, the Isles could be without defenseman Travis Hamonic, who has an undisclosed injury and no timetable for return. Jaroslav Halak is expected to start between the pipes for the Isles. Halak went 38-17-4 in the regular season for New York.
Scouting the Caps
Having Alexander Ovechkin, the NHL's leading goalscorer with 53, and John Tavares, one of the league's top point scores (86) going head-to-head, is one of the most exciting parts of this series.
The Islanders won't want to take many penalties since the Capitals have a deadly power play, sitting first in the league at 25.3 percent. Braden Holtby is expected to get the start in goal for the Caps. The goaltender went 41-20-10 in 2014-15.
New York Islanders at Washington Capitals
7 p.m. | Game 1, Eastern Conference Round 1
Verizon Center | Washington
Local: CSN DC, MSG+ | Nat'l: USA, Sportsnet, TVA 2
Live stream at NBC Live Extra and Rogers GameCentre
More coverage: Islanders blog | Capitals blog
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