It’s really tight in the East Division of the NHL right now. We’ve got the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders tied at the top, with the Pittsburgh Penguins just a point behind.

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The Caps and Isles have the same exact record (29-13-4) for 62 points, and with the Penguins at 61 and hosting the New Jersey Devils simultaneous to that, the loser of Thursday night’s encounter at the Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum might find themselves in third place.

Game time is 7 PM ET on Thursday, and we have an angle on it that will help you cash a ticket tonight.

Here’s the setup:

Washington Capitals vs. New York Islanders Preview

Capitals vs. Islanders Predictions

When: 7 PM ET (Thursday)

Money Line: Islanders -120 / Capitals +100

Total: Over 5.5 Goals -115 / Under 5.5 Goals -105

Puck Line: Islanders -1.5 Goals (+205) / Capitals +1.5 Goals (-245)

The Islanders blasted out the Rangers 6-1 on Tuesday night. What is a bit disconcerting is that they had a relatively rough time scoring goals prior to that, with just ten in their previous seven games. The funny thing is, they won four of those contests.

These teams have played five times; the Isles have lost all three times they have played in D.C., outscored by a 12-6 margin. But the Islanders won both on their home ice.

And you know, that’s been a pattern; if you’ve followed the Islanders you know that all too well. This team looks like a Stanley Cup champion when they are playing in Uniondale, winning an insane 19 of 23 games and outscoring the opposition by an average of 1.61 goals per outing (that does not include shootouts).

There has been a big deal made about the injury absence of Anders Lee, who will be out for the rest of the year. No one will contend that this is a better team without him; unquestionably he is a scoring threat and the team captain.

But they have gone 12-7 (in wins and losses) since he went down, and that is virtually the same winning percentage they had prior to that (63%).

Defense is obviously a key for Barry Trotz’s overall plan; the Islanders have allowed the third fewest goals in the NHL.

And they get off to fast starts when they are playing at the Coliseum.

Consider that the Islanders have a 20-1-2 record when they score first in a game. And then consider that they have outscored the opposition 30-11 in the first period at home.

That’s huge.

Washington is no slouch on the road; the Caps are 15-9. But they are just 6-6 in their last twelve games and come off a tough 6-3 loss to Boston where maybe they should have yanked goaltender Vitek Vanecek after the second period.

At some point we will get into how inept, on an overall basis, the Islanders have been when they have to travel. It is certainly a major concern for Trotz, who won the Stanley Cup with the Capitals before making the move to Long Island. But this is the NHL’s great Jekyll-and-Hyde story and we’ve got Dr. Jekyll on Thursday.

If we are playing the numbers game, we’ve got plenty of evidence to back the Islanders at a very attractive price, in this specific situation.

The Play: N.Y. ISLANDERS (-120)