On the day that owner Eugene Melnyk went...well Eugene Melnyk in a morning press conference, the Senators backed their owner's statements up almost to a "T" against the league leading Capitals later on in the night.
Mistakes and inconsistency led to the Caps staking themselves to a 3-0 lead in the first 15 mintues of the game and they coasted from there. Chasing the game has been the standard for the Senators this season and yet again they couldn't quite find enough to get fully back into the game. They got one back on a seeing-eye wrist shot from Chris Wideman in the second period and then Mika Zibanejad scored from behind the net in the final minute to get his team within one before they allowed the empty netter in the dying seconds.
It was just par for the course for the Senators, who didn't seem ready to play and didn't get the goaltending they needed. A couple of the goals were certainly questionable, going right through Craig Anderson, but he was also hung out to dry as well.
It was a team loss and one that was probably expected and with the win the Caps clinched first place in the Eastern Conference.
I will have more on the fallout from Melnyks comments in the coming days and probably weeks while the Senators wind out their season.
But for now, it is the second half of the back to back...
The Islanders are certainly a team that needs the win more than the Senators, as they haven't been playing well and are in danger of slipping out of the divisional playoff spot they currently hold and falling into a wild card battle. They have lost 4 straight games and will be looking at the reeling Senators to be their slump-busters.
Andrew Hammond will most likely be between the pipes for Ottawa, after sitting out last night following his shutout of the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday. Dion Phaneuf didn't make the trip after leaving Tuesday's game with injury, and Freddie Claesson was called up and will join the team in Brooklyn.
Each team has won one of the meetings this season, with Ottawa's win coming in extra time, both in Ottawa. It will be the Senators' first ever visit to Barkley's Center, the new home of the Islanders, which has been kind to the home side on the ice (21-9-4) even if the reviews off it haven't been kind.