Islanders & Capitals Both Fighting Through Heavy Injuries; The Big Difference

The Islanders are back in action for the first of a back-to-back against a Capitals team that is without Alex Ovechkin.

Good morning! I hope everyone had a fantastic Thanksgiving surrounded by friends and family.

The New York Islanders (8-10-5) are back in action up in the nation’s capital for the first of a back-to-back situation, with puck drop against the Washington Capitals (15-6-1) today at 3 PM ET on MSGSN 2.

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Both the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals are dealing with major injuries.

Long Island has been without forwards Anthony Duclair (lower-body injury) and Mathew Barzal (upper-body injury) for 18 games and 13 games, respectively. They’ve also been without defensemen Adam Pelech (jaw) and Mike Reilly (heart surgery) for 12 games.

Duclair had two goals in five games before his injury, while Barzal had two goals in 10 games. Since both have been out of the lineup, the Islanders have gone 4-5-4 and find themselves 14th in the Eastern Conference.

Bo Horvat has struggled to pick up the scoring. Outside of the Brock Nelson line and Anders Lee, offensive production has been slim to none. The blueline has tried to be more of a presence offensively, but Noah Dobson only has one goal (ENG) through 23 games. While the goaltending has done a great job to give the Islandes a chance to win, it’s hard to say they’ve out-goalied any team this season. They’re still missing that “big save” in that big moment.

On the Capitals’ side, their captain, Alex Ovechkin, who had 15 goals through the first 18 games of the season, suffered a broken leg on Nov. 18.

Other injuries include two players who haven’t played at all this year: Niklas Backstrom (back) and T.J. Oshie (back), both of whom are contemplating continuing their careers.

Long Island native Sonny Milano suffered a lower-body injury on Nov. 8 and is out long-term.

Ovechkin’s injury is by far the biggest, and we expected to see them struggling mightily in his absence.

But the Capitals haven’t, and that’s the biggest difference between them and the Islanders.