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Capitals hope to end slide against Islanders

Dec 4, 2008 - 11:26 AM NY Islanders (10-12-2) at Washington (13-9-3) 7:00 p.m. EST

WASHINGTON (Ticker) -- The Washington Capitals are in the midst of a tough stretch, losing five of their last seven games, and their latest defeat was surprising because it came on home ice.

The Capitals will look to bounce back and return to their winning ways at home when they take on the New York Islanders for the first time this season on Thursday.

Washington had won seven straight home games prior to a 5-3 loss to Florida on Tuesday, just its second loss at the Verizon Center and first in regulation. Tomas Fleischmann scored his 10th goal to a tie career-high.

Alex Ovechkin, who had a 10-game point scoring streak halted in a 3-0 loss to Columbus on Saturday, collected an assist in the loss to the Panthers, giving him 23 points in his last 12 games.

Jose Theodore will look to rebound from a poor performance against the Panthers, a game in which he posted his lowest save percentage (.810) since a season-opening loss to Atlanta. He allowed four goals on just 21 shots to Florida after posting his first shutout, 3-0, on Friday against Montreal.

The Islanders avoided a three-game slide with a 4-2 win over Ottawa on Saturday. Defenseman Freddy Meyer was an unlikely source of offense for New York, scoring two goals and adding an assist after totaling just a goal and an assist in his previous nine games.

Goaltender Joey MacDonald bounced back from a pair of rough games with his 10th win. After allowing four goals in consecutive starts, MacDonald turned aside 19 shots in the win.