WATCH Capitals vs. Islanders Live Stream Online: NHL Top Division Teams 2016, 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 13 of the regular season on Thursday, January 7 at 7:00 p.m. EST from Brooklyn's Barclays Center. 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 impressive top spot in Scott Burnside's official NHL power rankings for ESPN.com, while New York lags just a bit behind (out of a total 30 teams):

Capitals (1): "This was tough. The Caps have wobbled slightly since having their nine-game winning streak snapped last week, going winless (0-1-1) in two. But they are the cream of the NHL with the league's top winning percentage and a lineup that is Stanley Cup-worthy from top to bottom, bottom to top. Watch for Alex Ovechkin's assault on 500 goals this week. He's at 496."

Record: 29-7-3 (1st in Metropolitan Division).

Islanders (7): "The Isles were blown out by the Penguins on Saturday but bounced back nicely with Sunday's win over the Stars. They'll miss Johnny Boychuk and need to get Jaroslav Halak back and in a groove, but they are slightly ahead of the other two New York-area teams as we head into 2016."

Record: 22-13-5 (2nd in Metropolitan Division).

Tonight's big game will be broadcasted live on local sports channels  MSG+, TVA, 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 New York, and always stick with MstarsNews for even more NHL gameday coverage later this week. Which top division rival will snag the win tonight?