Capitals are focused on Islanders, not Barry Trotz

Reirden led the Capitals to their fifth straight Metropolitan Division title in his second season since taking over for Trotz, and now he must beat his former boss to find postseason success.

But Game 1 is set for 3 p.m. Wednesday at Scotiabank Arena, and that’s where the Capitals have trained their focus.

“Obviously a great matchup for the Washington Capitals and the New York Islanders,” Reirden said, downplaying any personal rivalry. “It’s not Barry Trotz versus Todd Reirden.”

Since Trotz left the Capitals and became coach of the Islanders in the 2018 offseason, the teams are 4-4 against each other, splitting their four-game regular season series two seasons in a row. The most memorable recent matchup came Jan. 18, when Washington captain Alex Ovechkin was on the ice for every other shift in the third period of a wild 6-4 victory. Ovechkin recorded his second hat trick in as many games as the Capitals reeled off five unanswered goals over the final 20 minutes to come back from a 4-1 deficit.

“Everyone’s going to mention it as far as the coaching staffs,” Capitals winger T.J. Oshie said of the matchup. “We know them well; they know us well. We’ve played each other quite a bit. It’s going to be a little bit of a chess match game in that at some point systems a little bit are going to go out the window. I think both teams are going to play their systems pretty well. It’s going to be who’s going to not quit, who’s going to keep going, who’s going to really stick with it until the end.”

The Islanders, the No. 6 seed in the Eastern Conference, won their qualifying-round series against the Florida Panthers, three games to one, after finishing 35-23-10 during the regular season. The Capitals went 1-1-1 in round-robin play and are the No. 3 seed in the East after finishing atop the Metropolitan with a 41-20-8 record.

“That group has a lot of pedigree,” said Trotz, who coached the Capitals for four seasons. “They’ve got a lot of star power, and they’ve won a championship. They’re well-equipped in a lot of areas, so the biggest challenge is to play them even and play them hard, and they’ll do the same because I know a lot about that team.”

Both teams have been dealing with key absences in their lineup over the past couple of weeks. Capitals defenseman John Carlson missed all three round-robin games after suffering an undisclosed injury in an exhibition game against the Carolina Hurricanes on July 29. Reirden said Tuesday that Carlson will be a game-time decision Wednesday.

“He obviously had a tremendous year, and any time you don’t have a player of that caliber in your lineup, it is difficult,” Reirden said. “I think especially with how our defense has transitioned prior to the start of the year, him really taking over the leadership back there and having some good players around, it has made his importance more valuable to our team than even in the past.”

Capitals center Lars Eller will not be available for Game 1 after he missed the final two round-robin games to attend the birth of his second child, Alexander. He returned to the Toronto bubble Saturday and has to produce four negative novel coronavirus test results in four days to be available to play. While Eller should be able to leave quarantine Wednesday, Reirden said he would not play in Game 1 and did not disclose any details. Game 2 is scheduled for Friday.

On the Islanders’ side, Trotz said defenseman Johnny Boychuk was at practice Monday and has “made great progress” since taking an illegal check to the head in Game 1 against the Panthers on Aug. 1 that forced him to miss the rest of the series. He is “highly probable” to play Wednesday, Trotz added.

Injuries aside, the Islanders are a tight, defense-oriented group, and their ability to generate offense will be a focus of the series. Against Florida, the Islanders’ top line of Mathew Barzal, Jordan Eberle and Anders Lee combined for just three goals in four games. Barzal was the Islanders’ leading scorer in the regular season, recording 60 points (19 goals, 41 assists) in 68 games.

“I think with that whole group, they were getting chances, and that’s what we keep preaching,” Trotz said. “If you’re not getting the chances, then you’re not doing anything offensively. But if you’re getting chances offensively, they’re going to end up in the back of the net eventually. I think we’re okay there.”

The Capitals faced offensive woes of their own during their round-robin games. After Ovechkin scored twice in the exhibition game, the top-six forwards were slow to get involved. They started to show up in the Capitals’ 2-1 win over Boston on Sunday, when Oshie and Tom Wilson scored, but Washington still went stretches without generating many chances.

“[We] need more from us top guys, and I think there is no secrets,” said Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom, who was a game-time decision Sunday because of an undisclosed injury and ended up recording 19:11 of ice time. “We got to work a little harder, go to the net and get those secondary chances, but I think overall we just got to use each other a little bit better and make sure we create those chances, because it hasn’t been good enough so far. But on the other hand, now it is time when it starts, so this is the time we need to show up.”

CAPITALS vs. ISLANDERS

Game 1: Wednesday, 3 p.m. (NBCSW, NBCSN)

Game 2: Friday, 8 p.m. (NBCSW, NBCSN)

Game 3: Sunday, noon (NBCSW, USA)

Game 4: Tuesday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m. (NBCSW, NBCSN)

*Game 5: Thursday, Aug. 20, TBA (NBCSW)

*Game 6: Saturday, Aug. 22, TBA (TV TBA)

*Game 7: Sunday, Aug. 23, TBA (TV TBA)

*if necessary