November 29 vs. New York Islanders at Capital One Arena
Time: 3:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: 106.7 THE FAN, Caps Radio 24/7
New York Islanders (8-10-5)
Washington Capitals (15-6-1)
The Caps make a quick stop home for the Thanksgiving holiday, but they won’t be sticking around to help with the leftovers. After hosting the New York Islanders for their traditional Black Friday home game, the Caps depart the District for Newark where they will finish up their fourth set of back-to-back games this month on Saturday against the Devils.
Friday’s game marks the first meeting between the Caps and Islanders this season; the Isles are the only Metro Division rival Washington has yet to face. The Caps will conclude their season’s series with New Jersey on Saturday.
The Caps come into Friday’s game on the heels of a wild 5-4 win in Tampa on Wednesday night, their sixth straight road victory. In the victory over the Bolts, the Caps shook off a wobbly first period in which they fell behind 2-0, a last-minute goal against in the second that put them behind 3-2, and an own goal from goaltender Charlie Lindgren that put them down 4-3.
“They just have a love and appreciation for Chucky Lindgren and what he has done for this team over the years,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “So you know that it isn’t just them saying it; they were going to go out and do everything they could do get him a goal back to make that right.”
In the third period, the Caps got an early goal from Dylan Strome, a dazzling individual effort goal from John Carlson and a power-play tally from Tom Wilson with 3:26 remaining in the third. Washington went on that power play when Strome drew a double-minor on the Lightning’s Anthony Cirelli with four minutes remaining.
With Alex Ovechkin sidelined with a broken fibia, Carlson, Wilson and Strome are Washington’s three alternate captains. They all came up large in the third period.
“It wasn’t even a question,” says Carlson. “Whenever someone makes a bad play – but certainly with Chucky, who has bailed us out so much over the years – it was all-hands-on-deck. We wanted to win to begin with, and certainly we wanted to cover that up. It turned out to be a good rallying point for us to get going forward.”
Lindgren stopped every shot he faced after his miscue, and the Caps rallied for their eighth comeback win of the season, tied for the most in the NHL. Wednesday’s win also gave Washington its first sweep of a Mentors’ Trip in six years. The Caps’ all-time record in Mentors’ Trip games is now 20-9-0.
“Someone between the second and third periods said, ‘Let’s do it for the dads,’” recounts Wilson. “Every year it gets more and more special for me to have my dad here, and I think all of the guys, we owe the world to them. I’m a parent now, and you realize how much goes into it, and I haven’t even gotten to the hard part yet, driving to all the rinks and stuff.
“It’s pretty special, and to be able to do it like that, I just hope everybody had a smile on their face in that suite; that’s what it’s all about. We’ve had a really great time with them.”
Strome was going to need to see a dentist, but he was focused on more immediate issues in the aftermath of the victory over Tampa Bay.
“I’m looking forward to seeing my dad now,” said Strome. “We’re probably going to share a cold beer that’s going to hurt to drink, but it’s going to taste even better. I’m looking forward to it.
“Nice to sweep the dads’ trip, and looking forward to ’25-26!”
Carlson’s goal was the 154th of his NHL career, putting him ahead of Dave Ellett (153) for the 10th most goals among U.S. born players in League history. Carlson is 23 goals behind Dustin Byfuglien (177) for ninth place on that ledger, but not only was his goal massive in the context of the contest, it was his first lamplighter in over a month, since Oct. 22.
Carlson has lost two goals to coach’s challenge in the last month.
“I was just praying they would drop the puck,” quipped Carlson.
At 8-2-0 on the road this season, the Caps have matched their best road mark through 10 games in franchise history. On Friday against the Islanders, the Caps will be seeking to shake off a four-game losing skid (0-3-1) on home ice. Washington’s last home victory came more than three weeks ago, a 3-2 victory over the Nashville Predators on Nov. 6.
New York has struggled through the first quarter of the campaign, stringing together consecutive victories only once. Thus far in 2024-25, the Islanders have avoided losing more than three straight games; they’ve dropped three in a row twice.
As they arrive in the District for Friday’s game, New York is coming off a three-game homestand in which it lost each of the last two games, yielding three goals against in the final frame of both games. Most recently, the Isles were doubled up by the Bruins on Wednesday night on Long Island, 6-3.
New York is averaging 2.48 goals per game, 30th in the NHL. The Isles haver permitted 29 goals against in the first two periods of games this season, and they’ve been dented for an NHL high 36 goals in the third period. The Isles are also tied for the League lead in overtime goals against/losses with four.
