Junior Capitals Head to Long Island

The Washington Junior Capitals will try to stay in the Wales Conference Playoff race on Day 157 when the club visits the New York Junior Islanders. Washington is six points out of the final playoff spot at 31-34-12 with one game in hand on Montreal and two games in hand on Toronto. New York is third in the conference at 40-28-11. The Caps have five games remaining.

Sean Bergenheim leads the balanced Washington attack with 19 goals and 37 assists. Patrick O'Sullivan adds 19 goals and 30 assists, and Zbynek Novak has 10 goals and 26 assists. Sean Kotary tops the goal-scoring chart with 22 goals, while Lance Moynch is chipping in with 41 points.

On defense, Jakub Cutta has eight goals and 30 assists, but he's out with an injury. Igor Shadulov adds five goals and 28 assists, and Brett Carson contributes 25 points in 49 games.

Between the pipes, Robert Muller is 6-1-3 with a 2.12 GAA and .918 save percentage. A late-season revelation, Muller should start against New York. Brad Topping is 14-24-6 with a 3.08 GAA and .896 save percentage. Daniel Taylor is 11-9-3 with a 2.87 GAA and .897 save percentage.

Kyle Stewart sparks the New York offense with 27 goals and 33 assists. Brett Sterling adds 25 goals and 23 assists, and Francois-Pierre Guenet has 20 goals and 27 assists.

On the blue line, Matt Jones is fourth on the club in scoring with 10 goals and 36 assists. Mikko Lehtonen adds 33 points, while Merek Deech is chipping in with 25 points.

In goal, Matt Zaba is 37-26-9 with a 2.85 GAA and .902 save percentage, but he is suspended for appearing in too many games. Shane Bendera is 28-19-7 with a 2.42 GAA and .907 save percentage. Kelly Guard is 1-2-1 with a 3.17 GAA and .897 save percentage.