Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders Pick & Prediction APRIL 6th 2025
Preview and Prediction
On April 19, 1987, the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals made history together as they competed in the "Easter Epic" - Game 7 of the Patrick Division semifinals. The Islanders ultimately emerged victorious in quadruple overtime, cementing a permanent connection between the two teams in the NHL's history books.
Now, almost 38 years later, Capitals star Alex Ovechkin has the opportunity to solidify another lasting bond between the two teams. On Sunday afternoon, he will attempt to break his tie with Wayne Gretzky as the NHL's all-time leading scorer when the Capitals visit the Islanders in what is sure to be a highly charged atmosphere in Elmont, N.Y.
Both teams enjoyed wins at home on Friday and had a day off on Saturday. Ovechkin scored twice to tie Gretzky's record in the Capitals' 5-3 victory over the Chicago Blackhawks, while the Islanders put an end to their six-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Minnesota Wild.
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Playing at home for only the second time in the past six games, Ovechkin tied Gretzky in front of a sold-out crowd of 18,573 in his 1,486th career game. Gretzky played one more game in his legendary NHL career and was in attendance on Friday, sitting with NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. After being congratulated by his teammates on the ice, Ovechkin took a moment to acknowledge Gretzky in his box and bowed to him.
Ovechkin scored his first goal of the night at 3:52 of the first period and then added a power play goal with 6:13 remaining in the game. The Capitals (49-18-9, 107 points) currently hold an 11-point lead over the Carolina Hurricanes in the race for the Metropolitan Division title and the top seed in the Eastern Conference playoffs. The Toronto Maple Leafs are also in the running with 96 points.
"I still can't believe it," said Ovechkin, who is 39 years old. "It's a historic moment. It's great for the game, and it's even more special to do it here."
In the final minutes of the game, Ovechkin had several opportunities to break the record. However, he did not want to score on an empty net and declined to take the ice when the Blackhawks pulled their goalie, Spencer Knight. He then missed four shots in the last 78 seconds after Knight returned to the ice following an empty-netter by Ryan Leonard.
"I'll take every empty-net goal I can get," said Gretzky, who joined Ovechkin for a press conference and is expected to attend Sunday's game with Bettman.
Friday's two-goal game continued Ovechkin's impressive sprint to the record. He has scored in each of his past four games and has a total of 41 goals in just 60 games this season. This includes 26 goals in 42 games since his return from a 16-game absence due to a broken leg on December 28.
Ovechkin has scored 44 goals in 71 regular-season games against the Islanders, but he has yet to score against Ilya Sorokin, who is expected to start as goalie on Sunday afternoon.
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"It's a game-by-game, shift-by-shift mentality," Ovechkin said. "You never know what's going to happen."
Preventing Ovechkin from breaking the record on Sunday could help the Islanders (33-32-10, 76 points) keep their slim playoff hopes alive. Casey Cizikas, Simon Holmstrom, and Noah Dobson were the goal scorers for New York on Friday, as they currently sit five points behind the Montreal Canadiens in the race for the final Eastern Conference wild-card spot.
The Islanders have made late surges to reach the playoffs in the past two seasons, and they will need to do it again with only seven games remaining. They have one game each against the New York Rangers and Columbus Blue Jackets, teams they would need to surpass in order to secure a wild card spot.
"Our focus is on these last games and what's at stake," Cizikas said. "Anything can happen in this league. We need to focus on what we can control and give ourselves the best chance to fight for it."
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,