Caps Host Islanders in Trotz's Return

Jan. 18 vs. New York Islanders
Time:7:30 p.m.
TV: NBCSW
Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, FAN 106.7
New York Islanders 27-15-4
Washington Capitals 27-14-5

Since the start of the 2014-15 NHL season, the Caps have played 374 regular season games. In only a dozen (3.2 percent) of those contests did Washington carry a losing streak of three or more games, but they'll do so on Friday night at Capital One Arena.

Friday night marks the return of former Caps coach Barry Trotz to the D.C. area for the first time since he helped lead the Capitals to their first Stanley Cup championship in franchise history last spring. Days after that euphoric triumph, Trotz resigned his post here in Washington, leaving to take over the helm of the New York Islanders.
Trotz has the Islanders breathing down the Caps' necks in the Metropolitan Division standings. Last season, the Isles finished seventh in the Metro, missing the playoffs by 17 points and leading the NHL with 293 goals against (3.57 per game). This season, Trotz's Islanders have shaved more than a goal off that total, going from last to first in the league, with an average of 2.50 goals against per game.
The Islanders will be coming in hot, too. With Thursday's home ice win over New Jersey, the Islanders have won three straight and 10 of their last 12 to vault up the standings, helping to create a logjam of four teams within three points of one another at the top of the Metro.

During his four seasons in D.C., Trotz preached the importance of not letting losing streaks fester, and of keeping a steady diet of standings points coming in. The Caps will need to take heed to that edict once again, as they enter a game with a three-game slide (0-2-1) for just the second time this season.
Those three losses came in the span of four nights, with the two regulation losses coming at the end - a 5-2 setback to St. Louis on Monday and an ugly 7-2 drubbing in Nashville on Tuesday. After taking Wednesday off, the Caps were back at work with a Thursday morning practice at MedStar Iceplex.
"We've learned some tough lessons on the defensive side of things," says Caps coach Todd Reirden, "in terms of giving up too many odd-man rushes and breakaways. That was something that was covered [Thursday] in video, trying to give ourselves a little bit better chance to limit some of those odd-man opportunities for the opposition. They're going to get some in the game; that's the game of hockey. But we'd like to limit the number that we've been giving up recently.
"In the defensive zone, we spent a lot of time working in there today in terms of allowing ourselves to spend less time there. It all starts there. If we can spend less time in the [defensive] zone and break out cleaner, then we're going to spend more time in the offensive zone and have a better chance to show what we're so elite at, and that's our offensive play.
"We just haven't spent enough time in the offensive zone, whether it's through our forecheck, or off of line rushes for or extended offensive zone time to be able to generate enough five-on-five chances. In turn, we've got to not spend so much time in the penalty box as well. All of those issues were addressed today and I hope to see a good response [Friday]."

Another thing the Caps will hope to see on Friday is Braden Holtby back between the pipes. The Caps' No. 1 netminder has been on the shelf since Saturday night when he left Washington's game against Columbus with an eye injury midway through the second period.
Holtby practiced on Thursday, but he practiced last Sunday as well before finding himself unable to go at the last minute on Tuesday against the Predators. That left Pheonix Copley to go the distance in his third appearance in four nights, and Reirden vowed on Thursday that if Holtby can't play Friday, the Caps will recall a goaltender from AHL Hershey.
"He is progressing," says Reirden of Holtby. "He made it through a hard practice today and we'll continue to evaluate. It's been a little bit of a situation where you don't know exactly how things are going to react until last minute. But for us in this situation, we'll see how he is in the morning after a hard day [Thursday]."

Regardless of who is in goal, the Caps know they need to get their game right in these final four games before the bye week/All-Star break, and they know Friday's date with the Isles is the most important one, because it's the next one.
"I think it's about our next game," says Caps right wing Tom Wilson. "We've got to go out there and play the right way, play the way that we want to play. There are some times when it feels worse than it is, and you go and practice and pucks are bouncing and stuff. But all of that can change. We've just got to make sure that we start well the next game.
"Hockey is a pretty funny sport, there are ups and downs and you've just got to try and keep pushing forward and get that next win."