New York Islanders vs. Washington Capitals: 5 Bold Predictions

– Specials teams hurts Islanders

Feb 21, 2015; Washington, DC, USA; Washington Capitals right wing Eric Fehr (16) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal against the New York Islanders in the third period at Verizon Center. The Capitals won 3-2 in a shootout. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

In the playoffs, teams that are good on the power-play, and teams that are good at killing power-plays generally succeed. In the Islanders/Capitals match-up, there is a glaring difference on who is better in the special teams department.

This season, the Capitals were the best team in the NHL on the power-play with a 25.3% success rate. A big reason for the Capitals’ success on the power-play is because of their star Alex Ovechkin. Ovechkin led the NHL in power-play goals with 25 on the season, and also had nine assists.

The Capitals’ penalty kill has also been effective, as they rank 14^th in the NHL with an 81.2% success rate.

All season penalty killing has been an issue for the Islanders, as they rank 26^th in NHL at killing power-plays. Only the Philadelphia Flyers, Edmonton Oilers, Arizona Coyotes, and Buffalo Sabres were worse. The company that the Islanders are in is not good when it comes to trying to kill a power-play.

The Islanders’ only hope against the Capitals’ power-play unit will be to not commit any penalties. The Islanders are still a very young team, but they do have some veteran leaders that have to stress to the team to not get into the penalty box.

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