This article will be part six of a series of posts looking at how the New York Islanders stack up against each Metropolitan Division team next season (done in no particular order). Today’s look: how the Islanders measure against the Washington Capitals.
FORWARDS
Washington has had one of the NHL’s most dynamic forwards groups for the last decade and for the time being, they still do. Nicklas Backstrom, Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin all averaged 75+ points per 82 games last year, while T.J. Oshie also averaged almost 65 points per 82. Jakub Vrana, who’s only 23 years old, scored 24 goals, while Tom Wilson also exploded offensively. The Capitals did lose a bit of depth with Brett Connolly heading to Florida but also added Richard Panik, re-signed Carl Hagelin and still have Lars Eller as an excellent depth piece. The Capitals may be a very old team but for now, their forward group is still one of the Eastern Conference’s best.
EDGE- WASHINGTON
DEFENSE
The Capitals have the best defenseman from either side in John Carlson. Washington’s top-four also includes Michal Kempny, who’s very defensively reliable and Dmitry Orlov who has been a key part of Washington’s success over the last few years, though he did struggle last season. Nick Jensen has been a decent addition for the Capitals but without Matt Niskanen, he’ll likely be playing more minutes than ever before, raising a bit of uncertainty. The recently acquired Radko Gudas makes for a great bottom-pairing guy but still has yet to play more than 77 games in a season.
On the other hand, the Islanders may not have a John Carlson but Ryan Pulock is likely only going to continue to improve while Devon Toews had an excellent showing once he gained a spot with the Islanders. Adam Pelech can provide defensive stability, while Nick Leddy was much more reliable as well last year. Though John Carlson and Michal Kempny make for a great duo, questions with Orlov, Jensen and Gudas remain.
EDGE- NEW YORK
GOALTENDING
Braden Holtby has been one of the NHL’s best goalies since the 2012 lockout. His stats for the last two seasons, however, don’t back that up. Holtby has posted just a .907 and .911 save percentage in the last two seasons. Obviously in one of those he won a Stanley Cup and was lights out in the playoff run to get there though.
In 113 games over the last two regular seasons, however, he’s posted just a .909 save percentage. To compare, Semyon Varlamov, has a .915 save percentage across 100 games between this season and last. Pheonix Copley, if he does start the year as Washington’s backup, also provides nothing more than okay backup goaltending while Thomas Greiss is coming off an excellent year and gives the Islanders depth in net. There’s a great chance Holtby returns the form we saw two years ago and he’s surely not someone you want to face off against in the playoffs. But based off the last two regular seasons, Holtby doesn’t provide the Capitals with any superior goaltending to what the Islanders would be expected to get in Varlamov and Greiss.
EDGE- TIE
Washington likely still has a bit of an edge here simply based on how excellent their forward group is. There’s also the factor that if Braden Holtby can return to the goalie that was, hovering around the .920 mark a few seasons ago, this isn’t much of a discussion as to who’s finishing ahead. That said, the Capitals beat out the Islanders by just one point to take the Metropolitan Division last year and these two teams may be a lot closer than many would expect.
New York Islanders Blogger • 
Join the Discussion:
»