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Caps host Isles in Metro matinee

Feb 21, 2015 - 3:19 PM (SportsNetwork.com) - The Washington Capitals attempt to post their longest winning streak of the season and make up some key ground in the division on Saturday afternoon as they host the first-place New York Islanders.

The Capitals secured their seventh three-game winning streak of the season by topping the Winnipeg Jets 5-1 on Thursday, but they haven't won four in a row since April 5-11 of last year.

However, picking up a fourth win in a row today would be key for the club, which sits third in the Metropolitan Division and five points behind the Islanders. The Capitals also are two in back of the second-place New York Rangers and one in front of fourth-place Pittsburgh.

Washington scored three times on the power play in the victory over the Jets. Two of those were scored by Nicklas Backstrom, who also assisted on John Carlson's tally on the man advantage.

"Right now, in this kind of moment of the season, you look at different teams and you just have to play to get points," said Caps forward Alex Ovechkin. "Every point right now is a very important point and we have to show the best game. All the guys have to sacrifice their body and play well."

Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer added a goal and an assist each, with Ovechkin stretching his point streak to six straight games. Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 38 goals, has six tallies and five assists over his run.

Backstrom, meanwhile, has nine points over his past six games and tops the league with 45 assists. He also is tied with Chicago's Patrick Kane for the NHL points lead with 63, two more than Ovechkin.

Braden Holtby made 19 saves for Washington.

The Caps look to prove their worth tonight versus the Islanders, who have won six of their past seven games and are coming off Thursday's 5-2 victory over the NHL-leading Nashville Predators.

New York raced out to a 3-0 lead in the first period and was boosted by a goal and two assists from defenseman Nick Leddy. John Tavares and Johnny Boychuk added a goal and an assist each, while Jaroslav Halak made 30 saves to tie a franchise record with his 32nd win of the season.

"I thought the second period, the pace picked up for them and we weathered the storm. We got some big saves from (Halak)," said Islanders coach Jack Capuano.

Halak matched the club record shared by Billy Smith (1981-82), Chris Osgood (2001-02) and Rick DiPietro (2006-07), while Tavares now has five goals and four assists over his past four games. He is just off Backstrom's point pace with 60 on the season.

New York did lose forward Mikhail Grabovski to an upper-body injury in the first period following a big hit from Nashville's Eric Nystrom. Grabovski was placed on injured reserve Friday and has totaled nine goals and 10 assists in 51 games on the season.

The Isles recalled forward Kael Mouillierat from the Bridgeport Sound Tigers of the American Hockey League, where he leads the club with 18 goals and 40 points through 51 games. The 27-year-old has never played in an NHL game.

Saturday marks the final of four meetings between these two clubs this regular season, with the Islanders having won two of the first three. However, both of those wins came on Long Island and the Isles lost a 5-2 contest in Washington on Nov. 28.

The Capitals have won nine of their last 13 at home versus the Islanders and 18 of the previous 26 matchups overall.

Halak is 6-4-0 with a 2.67 goals against average and .896 save percentage in 10 games versus the Capitals, who he appeared in 12 games with last season.

Holtby is 6-1-2 lifetime when facing the Islanders, posting a 2.26 GAA and .932 save percentage in nine games.

The Capitals visit the Philadelphia Flyers on Sunday afternoon, while the Islanders host the Vancouver Canucks later in the evening.