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Islanders-Capitals Preview

Nov 11, 2009 - 2:19 AM By JON PALMIERI STATS Editor

New York (6-6-5) at Washington (10-3-4), 7:00 p.m. EDT

Clearly the Washington Capitals are a better team with arguably the league's best player in their lineup. Succeeding now without Alex Ovechkin, however, could be beneficial in the long run.

The Capitals seek their third straight victory without Ovechkin on Wednesday night when the New York Islanders open a seven-game road trip at the Verizon Center.

When Ovechkin - the reigning two-time Hart and Richard Trophy winner - suffered an upper-body injury in an overtime loss to Columbus on Nov. 1, Washington (10-3-4) figured to experience a dropoff in offense. After a 3-2 loss at New Jersey in their first game without Ovechkin, the Capitals scored 11 goals in a home-and-home sweep of Florida, capped with a 7-4 home victory Saturday.

Tomas Fleischmann scored twice during a five-goal third period, and Mike Knuble added two goals and two assists for Washington, which improved to 3-4 in the seven games Ovechkin has missed since joining the team in 2005.

"Alex is a tough guy to replace, but we've got four lines that can score," said Brooks Laich, who had a goal and an assist.

Also missing from Washington's lineup Saturday were injured defensemen Mike Green (upper body) and Jeff Schultz (lower body). Green - a 2009 Norris Trophy finalist - returned to practice Monday, but his status for Wednesday is uncertain.

"Green and Ovie aren't in the lineup. I think that says something: that our other players are good," Capitals coach Bruce Boudreau said. "People seem to forget that."

Fleischmann has elevated his game in Ovechkin's absence, tallying five goals and two assists during a career-high five-game point streak. Laich has also been a big contributor with three goals and three assists in his past four contests.

Jose Theodore started both games versus Florida and has helped the Capitals gain at least a point in six straight starts (4-0-2). Theodore is 5-0-1 with a 2.30 goals-against average in his last six starts against the Islanders, including a 4-3 overtime loss Oct. 30.

New York (6-6-5) avoided a third consecutive defeat with a 6-3 victory over visiting Atlanta on Saturday, as Sean Bergenheim, Blake Comeau and Jack Hillen each scored their first goals of the season.

Matt Moulson added a goal and an assist for the Islanders, who registered a season-high 45 shots in their fourth straight home win.

"That's a feel-good for everybody," Islanders coach Scott Gordon said. "If you can get balanced scoring, you're a lot harder to play against."

While strong play at home has helped them exceed expectations, the Islanders are a dismal 1-4-3 on the road, scoring two goals or fewer in five of those games.

That lone victory away from home came at the expense of the Capitals, as defenseman Mark Streit scored 53 seconds into overtime. That ended New York's five-game losing streak (0-2-3) against Washington and marked the fourth time in the past five meetings that the teams played past regulation.

Gordon has alternated his goalies most of the season, but Dwayne Roloson is making a case for more playing time. He made 31 saves Saturday to improve to 5-1-3 with a 2.74 GAA this season, and is 6-0-2 with a 1.97 GAA in his last eight starts against the Capitals.

Islanders forward Trent Hunter (torn pectoral muscle), tied for fifth on the team with 14 goals in 2008-09, could make his season debut in place of right wing Kyle Okposo, who is likely to miss the next three games due to the H1N1 flu. Okposo is third on the team with 10 points.