With the regular season grind in the books, it's finally time for some playoff hockey. The New York Islanders and the Washington Capitals will play Game 1 of this seven game series at Verizon Center. The Islanders are coming into the post-season stumbling as they've won only four of their last 14 games, and I think we're getting a fair price on the hosts tonight.

Here are my keys to the game:

1. Halak vs. Holtby - The Caps star netminder Braden Holtby ended the regular season on a good note allowing only four goals over his last three games. He's a solid 3-1-1 behind a 2.34 GAA so far in April and 20-10-4 at home on the season. Jaroslav Halak meanwhile has been torched for a total of 10 goals over his last three starts and will have to try and cool down a red hot Alexander Ovechkin who's 53 regular season goals this year was a league-high by a country mile.

2. Special Teams - The Caps were 6-for-16 on the man advantage over their last seven games and their 25.3% conversion rate was the best mark in the NHL. Bad news for the Islanders who's penalty kill unit ranks among the worst in the league, killing off only 78% of their penalties.

3. X-Factor - The Caps Niklas Backstrom had one goal and five assists over four regular season meetings with the Islanders, often combining with Alexander Ovechkin who had four goals and five points.

Selection: This is a play on the Washington Capitals.(10*)