Getty Brock Nelson and the New York Islanders will look to secure home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs.
The New York Islanders will visit the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday in each team’s final game of the regular season.
The game is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. ET and will be televised on MSG+ in Islanders markets, NBC Sports Washington in Capitals markets, and ESPN+ everywhere else. If you don’t have cable, here’s how to watch a live stream of the game, whether you live in the teams’ market or not:
If The Game is Out of Your Market
Viewers who live outside of the Islanders and Capitals market can watch a live stream of the game via ESPN+, the digital streaming service from ESPN (no cable required) that has coverage of NHL games each day, including during the playoffs.
(And for fans of other sports, ESPN+ has exclusive coverage of many other sports, including UFC PPV events, the Lomachenko vs Crolla fight on April 12 and all FA Cup soccer matches)
You can start a free seven-day trial of ESPN+ right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via ESPN.com, or on your phone (Android and iPhone compatible), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or other compatible streaming device via the ESPN app.
If The Game is in Your Market
The main FuboTV bundle includes 85-plus live TV channels, including MSG+ if you live in the Islanders market and NBC Sports Washington if you live in the Capitals market.
You can start a free 7-day trial of FuboTV right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the FuboTV website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast or other supported device via the FuboTV app.
PS Vue–which doesn’t require an actual PlayStation console to sign up or watch–offers four different live-TV channel packages: The upper three bundles all include NBC Sports Washington if you live in the Capitals market, but MSG+ is not available on Vue.
You can start a free 5-day trial of PS Vue right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the PS Vue website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV, Chromecast, PlayStation (3 or 4), or other supported device via the PS Vue app.
In addition to a Netflix-like on-demand streaming library, Hulu also offers a bundle of 60-plus live TV channels, including NBC Sports Washington if you live in the Capitals market, but MSG+ is not available on Hulu.
You can sign up for “Hulu with Live TV” right here, and you can then watch a live stream of the game on your computer via the Hulu website, or on your phone (Android and iPhone supported), tablet, Roku, Apple TV, Amazon Fire TV, Chromecast, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Echo Show, or other streaming device via the Hulu app.
Islanders vs Capitals Preview
The Islanders enter their final game of the regular season in fourth in the East playoff standings. However, a regulation loss could see them drop to sixth; the Pittsburgh Penguins could then overtake them with a season-closing non-shootout victory over the New York Rangers, and the Toronto Maple Leafs could do the same with a win of any flavor in their finale against the Montreal Canadiens.
The game is meaningless for the Capitals, who are fixed in the East’s No. 3 seed and would have home-ice advantage against any Western Conference foe save for the Calgary Flames, whom they can’t catch in points, should they reach the Stanley Cup Final.
Capitals Clinch Division
On Thursday, the defending Stanley Cup champions bested a Montreal team playing for their playoff lives 2-1 to clinch the Metropolitan Division crown.
“I think we did the right things at the right time,” Caps goaltender Braden Holtby said, according to the Associated Press. “If we were under duress in our end, at least someone came up with a big play, flip it out or something. Live to fight another day. At the blue lines we were a lot better, a lot like we need to be in the playoffs and I thought the guys had a high-level commitment to winning.”
It was Washington’s fifth win in six games. Holtby rested in the loss, allowing eight goals total and posting a .947 save percentage in the five victories. He made 33 saves on Thursday.
Caps center Nic Dowd, playing in his first season in Washington, scored the game-winner three minutes into the second period. A week earlier, he tallied the difference-maker as the team clinched a playoff berth against the Carolina Hurricanes 3-2.
“I guess I don’t think about it as those two individual things, but as a whole this season’s been great,” Dowd said, per AP. “Obviously a great group of guys, and I’ve learned a lot coming to a new organization. It’s a real privilege to be a part of it, and I’m excited for playoffs.”
Islanders Edge Panthers in Shootout
Isles center Brock Nelson notched his 25th goal of the season in his side’s 2-1 shootout victory over Florida. Thomas Greiss made 29 saves in regulation and overtime and stopped all four comers in the tiebreaker.
“We want to secure [home-ice advantage in the first round of the playoffs] and we want to take advantage of that,” Nelson said of Saturday’s tilt, according to Newsday. “It’s only for one round, so we’d like to have home ice for that.”