New York Islanders “@” Washington Capitals [Conf. Quarterfinal Game 2 Thread]

The Islanders and Capitals continue their series with Game 2 in Toronto for a scheduled 8 p.m. EDT start.

Barry Trotz of course wasn’t hinting at any lineup changes, and as the winning coach they’re unlikely anyway.

Andy Greene continued to get the call over Johnny Boychuk (who was deemed fit to play) in Game 1 and that paid off, so the presumption is they stick with this until fortunes or health change.

However, the lineup question came up because reporters were wondering if, after the Backstrom-Lee-Carlson-Wilson activity, and the general physical tone to Game 1, if Ross Johnston might be brought in.

Doubtful, I’d think. They’re already skating Leo Komarov instead of Tom Kuhnhackl.

On the Capitals side, they know they’re without Nicklas Backstrom but will welcome Lars Eller, back from paternity leave and left-the-bubble quarantine, in his place. Not a bad fallback option. Their fans are also worried about their defense and goaltending, which is nice. (Maybe the team’s worried too, but talking about it isn’t a very team-y thing to do.)