The Caps move to (8-7), their first time over .500 on the season after three straight wins, second straight played in Verizon center, beating the New York Islanders. In the three game span they have scored 16 goals and two of the games they were without then NHL Goal leader Alex Ovechkin. In his first game back he kept his hot hand by scoring two goals and assisting on Tom Wilson’s first career goal. Along with Wilson, Alex Urbom and Marcus Johansson scored their first goals of the season against the Islanders. The Capital’s special teams continued to impress as they killed off all five of the Islander’s power plays and the power play netted the puck four out of the six chances they got. The power play was slumping before the performance tonight only scoring on two of the last 21.
The Islanders starting the scoring off when John Tavares scored the lone goal of the first period with 14:02, his seventh of the season, on a wrist shot that beat Braden Holtby over the glove. As a power play for the Isles was winding down Frans Nielsen got a hold of the loose puck and slid it over to Tavares who had an almost open net for a lay-up goal. Holtby did everything he could to even get close to the puck as he went into a split and waved the glove in desperation. The Islanders had yet to lose in regulation when they were first to score in the game, a streak that was broken last night.
(Geoff Burke)
The Capital drew even at one, three minutes into the second, when the Islanders could not get the puck out of their defensive zone. John Carlson steals two passes and ends up wristing one over Nabokov’s blocker, his second of the season. Just a little over a minute later the Capitals were on the power play when Nick Backstrom won the draw straight back to Ovechkin who only needed three second to give the Caps the lead. Ovechkin’s eleventh on the season, first of the night, tied him for second in goal in the league tied with Steven Stamkos. Seventeen seconds later the Isles got their chance to even the score up at two when Kyle Okposo’s shot beat Holtby. Holtby immediately went over to the referees after the goal arguing that Tavares pushed teammate John Carlson into him making Holtby unable to make the save.
The Capitals only needed a minute and twelve seconds to reclaim the lead when Johansson netted his first goal of the season. The puck was loose in the crease after a Troy Brouwer shot and Johansson capitalized on the opportunity. Urbom scored the fifth goal of the period, 5:04 minutes after Carlson scored the first. Tom Wilson got the primary assist on the goal after he made a pass fro his butt that sneaked through everyone in front and landed on Urbom’s stick. Urbom finished it off with a bomb of a slap shot to Nabokov’s glove side. Ovechkin ended the scoring in the second with his second goal assisted by Johansson and Backstrom. Johansson had a pretty pass through Nabokov’s crease and all Ovechkin needed to do was tap in his twelfth goal of the season.
Wilson finished the scoring when he got a rare opportunity to play on the power play and scored his first career goal. Wilson redirected an Ovechkin pass under Nabokov’s right pad. After the game Ovechkin shaving creamed Wilson during a post game interview which Wilson took like a champ.
The Caps have looked good as of late and will hopefully continue their winning ways when they face the Minnesota Wild Thursday November 7th.
Thomas Flaherty
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