The Islanders are underdogs headed into their opening round series against the Washington Capitals. Head coach Jack Capuano knows that, and he’s perfectly fine with it.
“Everybody is picking Washington,” he told Newsday. “I like being the underdog . . . They look at the brackets and the people on TV — the TV’s running every morning seeing who they’re picking. For us, we might be the underdog, but I’m stressing how good of a team they are. We finished with 101 points for a reason.”
The Islanders and Capitals split the season series 2-2, with each team winning in their home building.