It took extra time on Thursday night, but the Washington
Capitals made sure their trip to Brooklyn was a happy one as the Caps squeezed
past the New York Islanders, 3-2. It was the Caps’ third win in three tries
against the Islanders this season.
It was a game that did not start out in a promising way for
the Caps, who surrendered the first goal late in the first period. John Tavares
got the Islanders on the board when he took a pass from Nick Leddy just inside
the Caps’ blue line, circled through the right wing faceoff circle, and
wrong-footed a wrist shot past goalie Braden Holtby at the 15:41 mark.
It was part of an early game funk for the Caps that resulted
in head coach Barry Trotz making some adjustments among forward lines. It had
the intended effect less than two minutes into the second period. It started
with Justin Williams and Leddy fighting for the puck in the corner to the left
of goalie Thomas Greiss. Williams fought Leddy to a draw, allowing Evgeny
Kuznetsov to swoop in and gather up the puck. Circling behind the Islander net,
Kuznetsov spun and sent a pass back out to the left of Greiss where Alex
Ovechkin was waiting. Ovechkin wasted no time snapping the puck into the net,
and the game was tied 1:25 into the period.
Less than two minutes later, the Caps scored a more
conventional power play goal. With the top line reunited, T.J. Oshie held the
puck just inside the blue line as Nicklas Backstrom filled in down the middle.
Oshie led Backstrom perfectly with a pass, and Backstrom slid the puck off to
his left where Ovechkin was gliding in. Ovechkin took one step to his right and
fired a laser past Greiss to make it 2-1 just 2:52 into the period.
The one-goal lead held up through the rest of the second
period, and when the Caps worked through the first 18 minutes of the third
period without damage, it looked as if they would get out with their one-goal
lead intact. However, a cross-ice clearing attempt by Marcus Johansson did not
have enough energy and was settled by Travis Hamonic at the right point.
Hamomic fired the puck at the Washington net. Holtby made the stop, but the
puck squirted out to Frans Nielsen to Holtby’s left. With time to pick his
spot, Nielsen snapped the puck over Holtby’s left shoulder and into the top of
the net to tie the game, 2-2, with just 1:44 left in regulation.
That would be how the teams went to overtime, and it looked
as if the five-minute session would not be sufficient to settle matters. In the
final minute, with the open ice allowed by the 3-on-3, John Carlson drew the
puck to the right point, crossing paths with Justin Williams as he did. Carlson
then fed Williams high in the offensive zone, and Williams blistered a
one-timer that sailed through a screen and past Greiss for the game-winner in
the Caps’ 3-2 win.
Other stuff…
-- The Caps’ 42nd win in 56 games is an NHL record, breaking
the Detroit Red Wings’ 41 wins in 56 games in the 1996-1996 season.
-- The win was the Caps’ 21st on the road, matching their
home win total. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have more home wins (22) than the
Caps’ have road wins this season.
-- With his two goals, Alex Ovechkin tied Gilbert Perreault
for 38th place on the all-time goal scoring list with 512 career goals. Next
up…Jeremy Roenick (513).
-- The Caps had a good night in the circle, going 36-for-63
in faceoffs overall (57.1 percent), and a very good night in the offensive
zone, where they were 17-for-26 (65.4 percent).
-- Alex Ovechkin recorded ten shots on goal. That makes three games in his last four in
which he hit the ten-shot mark. No other player in the NHL has more than two
such games all season (Evgeni Malkin has two).
He has more shots on goal in his last four games (35) than 297 skaters
to have dressed for games this season.
-- Justin Williams had a goal and an assist to extend his
points streak to three games and four in his last five. Over those five games he is 3-3-6, plus-3.
-- Ovechkin’s two goals gave him six multi-goal games this
season, putting him in a tie with Tyler Seguin for most in the league.
-- You have to work hard at making a play look as easy as
Nicklas Backstrom’s assist on Ovechkin’s second goal. And no player in the league builds as solid a
resume in as understated a fashion. With
that assist, Backstrom has points in nine of his last 12 games, over which he
is 4-9-13, plus-2.
-- The trapezoid behind the opponent’s net is always going
to be known as “Wayne Gretzky’s Office,” but Evgeny Kuznetsov seems to want to
start a franchise of his own. The back
pass from behind the net to the uncovered weak side has become something of a
signature move for Kuznetsov, who recorded a point for the 12th time in 15
games and his third game in a row. He is
3-18-21, plus-8, over his last 15 games.
-- Braden Holtby might want the John Tavares goal back, but
he looked sharper than he did in any game since he stopped 33 of 35 shots
against the Philadelphia Flyers in a 3-2 win back on February 7th.
In the end…
If there is one place the Caps have struggled a bit this
season, it has been in the 3-on-3 overtime.
In games settled during the five-minute session, this win lifted their
record to 4-3 (they are also 3-1 in the Gimmick). This win was gratifying in one important sense. At this time of the season – the “dog days of
February,” if you will – and against an opponent that the Caps had already
beaten twice, this might have been a game in which focus was flagging. Early on, that looked to be the case. But Barry Trotz took swift action to shake
things up among his lethargic forwards, the players shook off the fog, and they
tended to business. Again. It is a trait this team just keeps
demonstrating.
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