The NY Islanders and Washington Capitals are playing Game 7 of their first round playoffs series on Monday night and the matchup from the Verizon Center starts at 7:30 pm ET on the NBC Sports Network and the NBCSN Live Extra as John Tavares and Alex Ovechkin play to see who will match up against the New York Rangers in the next round of the postseason.
The Islanders come in after getting a huge win in Game 6 and obviously that was big, as the Caps were up 3-2 coming into that game. That matchup could be the final game at Nassau Coliseum, as the Islanders need to win to stay alive in the playoffs. The winner of this series will face off against the Rangers and that will be a tough test, as the Rangers are the top team in the conference and they just took care of the Penguins in five games.
The Islanders come in as one of the best scoring teams in the league this season and they will try to get started early against the Caps. The team was totally taken down in Game 5 and they cannot afford and early performance like that again. The Islanders pulled out the win in Game 6 and now the pressure is on the Caps, as they have the game at home.
The Rangers are an interesting opponent for both teams, as the Islanders are also from the area and played very well at the beginning of the year. The Islanders have slumped in the second half compared to what the Rangers did, but for a time the Islanders were considered to be the top team in the city for part of the season. Playing the Rangers in the potential final matchups of Nassau could be big for the emotional component of things and could give the Rangers a huge test.
The Caps come in looking to play the Rangers yet again, as the two teams have played four series in the playoffs over the past stretch of years. The teams have battled hard and this year the Rangers come in as the favorite no matter who they play, as they are first in the east. The Rangers have a wide open NHL field in front of them and this could be the best chance in two decades for the team to win the Cup, even more so than last year when they made it to the Stanley Cup finals.
Last year the Islanders and Caps did not get their chances to go deep and now they will battle in one game to decide who advances in the playoffs. Ovechkin has not dominated the series, but he has the chance for a breakout game here.
Check here for the NY Islanders and Washington Capitals live coverage.
