WATCH Capitals vs. Islanders Live Stream Online: NHL 2016 Top Division Rivals, Playoff Updates

Hockey's back for the official 2015-2016 NHL season, so get ready, MstarsNews readers!

The Washington Capitals battle it out on the ice against the New York Islanders in Week 19 of the regular season on Thursday, February 18 at 7:00 p.m. EST from the Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Read on to see where fans can watch and listen to a live stream of the highly-anticipated Thursday evening hockey game online and catch up-to-date feeds and coverage on highlight plays and scores.

Now heading into mid-season, Washington maintains the extremely impressive top spot in Pierre LeBrun's official NHL power rankings for ESPN.com, while NY doesn't lag too far behind (out of a total 30 teams):

Capitals (1): "The Caps rallied furiously but just fell short Saturday night against the Stars. It's so rare to see them lose. It's a potential Stanley Cup finals preview Tuesday night when the Kings visit."

Record: 41-10-4 (1st in Metropolitan Division).

Islanders (13): "Their three-game win streak was snapped in a loss to the Hurricanes. Is their goaltending good enough for the Isles to win a playoff round?"   

Record: 30-19-6 (3rd in Metropolitan Division).

Tonight's big game will be broadcasted live on local sports channels MSG(+) and CSMA.

For fans who want to try out a free live stream (which may mean downloading a torrent), click here. Also try this or another option.

And here's more info on current Division standings.

For a one-time fee, fans can access a NHL Gamecenter Live pass.

ESPN, ESPN Scoreboard, and NHL.com  are both good sources for up-to-date game coverage and feeds.

More radio listening options for Capitals and Islanders.

Official NHL team websites: Capitals and Islanders.

Enjoy this evening's exciting hockey game from the East Coast, and always stick with MstarsNews for even more NHL gameday coverage later this week. Which top division rival will snag the win tonight?