The Washington Capitals came into tonight not having beaten the Islanders in regulation since 2011. The Capitals was determined to change that from the start of the game. The Capitals, who are notoriously slow starters, were in control of the game from the opening faceoff. Even though the Capitals trailed 1-0 after one after a John Tavares goal, you could tell that the Capitals were bound to break the game open. Just like they did on Friday night against the Flyers, the Capitals broke the game open with five goals in the second period.
The first goal came from John Carlson, who scored his second goal in as many games.
That goal came due to the Capitals pressuring the Islanders into a turnover. Carlson got about the easiest goal that he’s ever going to score. Their next goal came from Alex Ovechkin.
Turns out all the Capitals power play needed to be fixed was Alex Ovechkin. Great job by Backstrom to win that faceoff right to Ovechkin, and Ovechkin simply does not miss from that spot. Nicklas Backstrom got his 12th assist on the season on that goal. The Capitals allowed a goal by Kyle Okposo just seventeen seconds after that to tie the game at 2-2. However, two minutes and twelve seconds later, the Capitals would grab the lead for good. They got the goal from a very unlikely source.
That was Marcus Johansson’s first goal of the season. It came because the Capitals were doing exactly what they should always be doing- crashing the net. When you crash the net and put pressure on the goalie, you tend to find that rebounds come your way. Troy Brouwer got his first assist of the season and Backstrom got his second of the night and 13th of the season. At the 8:10 mark, another Capital would score his first goal of the season. This time, it was Alex Urbom.
Definitely not a pretty goal, but I’ll take it. Great job by Tom Wilson to drive the puck to the net and get the puck out to Urbom from his rear end to earn his first NHL point. Steve Oleksy also got an assist on that goal, his fourth of the year. At the 17:18 mark, the Capitals would get another power play goal from their captain.
I think it’s safe to say that Oveckin is healthy. Marcus Johansson got his eleventh assist of the year and Backstrom got his third assist of the night and 14th assist of the season. 15:59 into the third period, Tom Wilson would achieve another NHL first- his first NHL goal! Here’s a gif of it.
I’ve been waiting for the Capitals to start using Tom Wilson on power plays. They finally did, and Wilson rewarded them with his first NHL goal! Alex Ovechkin got his sixth assist of the year and Mikhail Grabovski got his ninth assist of the year.
I know it’s easy to overlook what Holtby did since the Capitals scored 6 goals, but Holtby has a great night between the pipes. He saved 34 of 36 shots and was simply stellar on penalty kills.
Tom Wilson finished the night a fight away from a Gordie Howe hat trick. Ironically,that’s the one of the three that I would have bet money on him getting if you told me he got two of the following: a goal, an assist, and a fight. At the end of the game, Wilson was cheap shotted by Matt Carnker, but Wilson was OK. Yes, Wilson did get pied after the game, and unlike last time,Alex Ovechkin did it just like Adam Jones would. Maybe Ovechkin was inspired by Jones’s presence at the game?
The Washington Capitals play the Minnesota Wild on Thursday at home.The Capitals won so you know that means.
