Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders Pick & Prediction APRIL 15th 2025
Preview and Prediction
On April 6, as Alex Ovechkin was just one goal shy of surpassing Wayne Gretzky's NHL record, eager fans shelled out thousands of dollars to attend the game at UBS Arena. Meanwhile, a staggering 1.3 million viewers tuned in to TNT/truTV to witness Ovechkin and the Capitals take on the New York Islanders.
However, the upcoming rematch on Tuesday is not expected to garner the same level of excitement.
In the penultimate game of the regular season for both teams, Ovechkin and the Capitals will continue to fine-tune their skills for the playoffs as they face off against the lottery-bound Islanders in Elmont, N.Y.
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Following Sunday's afternoon games, both squads had a day off on Monday. Ovechkin managed to score the lone goal for the Capitals in their 4-1 loss to the Columbus Blue Jackets, who completed a weekend sweep. Meanwhile, the Islanders secured a 1-0 victory over the New Jersey Devils with a 25-save shutout from Ilya Sorokin.
For the Capitals (50-21-9, 109 points), who have had their best regular season since 2016-17, the focus has been on Ovechkin's pursuit of Gretzky's record while also preparing for the playoffs. However, their recent performance has been less than stellar, with a record of 3-6-1 in their last 10 games. During this span, they clinched both the Metropolitan Division and the top seed in the Eastern Conference, but were outscored 19-7 and have lost three of their last four games. This includes their April 6 matchup against the Islanders, where Ovechkin scored his 895th NHL goal to break Gretzky's record in a 4-1 loss.
"Obviously, it's not an ideal situation," said Capitals right winger Tom Wilson. "There's been a lot going on, but we don't want to make excuses."
The Capitals were dominated by the Blue Jackets over the weekend, being outscored 11-1 in two games. However, Ovechkin did not play in Saturday's game and managed to score on Sunday for the first time since breaking the record.
"We have two games left, but we understand what we're trying to set ourselves up for," said Capitals coach Spencer Carbery. "That's our main objective."
For the Islanders (35-33-12, 82 points), any hopes of making it to the playoffs as the second wild card and potentially facing the Capitals in the first round were dashed on Saturday when they were eliminated from postseason contention with a 4-3 shootout loss to the Philadelphia Flyers.
However, in Sunday's game, the Islanders found some solace in their win, which was highlighted by Sorokin's unexpected return to the lineup.
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The goalie had suffered a lower-body injury in a 7-6 overtime loss to the Nashville Predators on April 8 and missed the next two games. In his absence, backups Marcus Hogberg and Tristan Lennox allowed 13 goals in consecutive defeats. But Sorokin made a triumphant return on Sunday, earning his first shutout since January and tying Hall of Famer Billy Smith for the second-most shutouts in franchise history with 22.
"He could have easily given up on the season after our last game," said Islanders center Bo Horvat, who scored the lone goal in the second period. "But it just shows the type of person he is, the type of player he is, and the type of teammate he is to come back and play in what was essentially a meaningless game for both teams."
Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders Recap APR 6TH 2025
ELMONT, N.Y. -- Alexander Ovechkin became the leading goal scorer in NHL history on Sunday afternoon when he broke a tie atop the leaderboard with Wayne Gretzky by scoring his 895th career goal in the second period of the Washington Capitals' 4-1 loss to the host New York Islanders.
"They say records are made to be broken," Gretzky said during an on-ice ceremony. "But I'm not sure who's going to get more goals than that."
Marc Gatcomb collected the first two-goal game of his career while Bo Horvat and Jean-Gabriel Pageau also scored for the Islanders (34-32-10, 78 points), who won their second straight game.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin stopped 28 of 29 shots -- every one but Ovechkin's -- for New York, which sits five points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the race for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Charlie Lindgren recorded 18 saves for the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals (49-19-9, 107 points), who have lost five of seven (2-4-1).
But the story on Sunday was Ovechkin, who completed his pursuit of Gretzky in appropriate fashion by adding to another NHL record with his 325th power-play goal.
The sellout crowd of 17,250 -- featuring thousands adorned in Capitals uniforms -- buzzed as he hit the ice after the Islanders' Casey Cizikas was whistled for tripping seven minutes into the second period. A television timeout allowed the anticipation to build before Ovechkin, skating up along the left side of the ice, took a pass from longtime teammate Tom Wilson and fired a wrist shot from the faceoff circle that sailed past Sorokin's blocker.
Ovechkin raised his arms, skated a few steps and did a bellyflop on the ice as the crowd roared. He collected the record-breaking goal in his 1,487th career game -- the same number of NHL games Gretzky played.
"We have all witnessed history," NHL commissioner Gary Bettman said.
The Capitals, led by John Carlson, bolted for Ovechkin and mobbed him at center ice before the celebration drifted backwards as the scoreboard displayed a graphic reading "895 NHL ALL-TIME GOALS LEADER ALEX OVECHKIN."
A montage of Ovechkin's milestone goals aired as a blue carpet was rolled onto the ice next to a commemorative painting of "The Great 8" raising the Stanley Cup in 2018. The scoreboard tribute ended with messages from his wife, Anastasia, their two children, and Ovechkin's mother, Tatyana. His family joined him at center ice during the commemorative celebration.
The Isles remained on the ice and tapped their sticks before Ovechkin exchanged handshakes with the skaters and hugged netminder Ilya Sorokin. He later hugged New York coach Patrick Roy, who once held the NHL's all-time wins record.
After Bettman and Gretzky spoke, Gretzky and his wife, Janet, presented Ovechkin's wife with a gift. Gordie Howe's wife presented Janet with a gift when Gretzky surpassed Howe in 1994.
Ovechkin hugged and kissed the members of his family before taking a microphone adorned with "895" on it.
"What a day, huh?" Ovechkin said.
The milestone goal capped an impressive sprint to the record by Ovechkin. He turned 39 in September and has 42 goals this season despite missing almost six weeks with a broken leg. Ovechkin has 32 goals in his last 45 games, including at least one in each of the previous five.
Ovechkin's historic goal ended Gretzky's 31-year reign as the NHL's leading goal scorer and likely began his similarly lengthy tenure atop the all-time list. Sidney Crosby, who is 37 years old and entered the league with Ovechkin in 2005, ranks second behind Ovechkin among active players with 622 goals entering Sunday.
--Jerry Beach,