(Photo: Monumental Network)

1st Period

T.J. Oshie opened the scoring at 4:40 of the first period, batting an aerial pass home from Evgeny Kuznetsov for a 1–0 Capitals lead.

Jay Beagle got into the action less than two minutes later at 6:34, with a great curl and drag move and a high shot to the corner off of a pretty drop pass from Tom Wilson.

Less than a minute later Kuznetsov found the back of the net, with an assist credited to John Carlson. The Islanders called their timeout to calm things down, but at 3–0, the Capitals had already done the damage.

2nd Period

The Islanders pulled to 3–1 at 8:27, on a point shot deflection in front of Braden Holtby. The Capitals responded, making it a 4–1 game on the power play at 12:50, with a point shot from John Carlson that ramped up off an Islanders stick in front.

A patented Ovechkin power play one timer, off the cross ice feed from Kuznetsov, made it 5–1 at the 18:15 mark. On the play Oshie took three Islanders down low in front of the net and passed to Kuznetsov, leaving a gaping cross ice seam for the beautiful Kuznetsov feed to Ovechkin. For Kuznetsov that brought the two period stat line to a goal and 3 assists.

3rd Period

Ovechkin made it 6–1 on a second power play one timer on the feed from Carlson at 9:20. The Islanders defenseman wasn’t in a bad position, but Ovechkin had all the space he needed and buried it past the goalies mask before he could flinch. Kyle Okposo pulled the Islanders within four at 15:22 of the period, tucking a shot behind Holtby on a give and go play from Frans Nielsen.

Takeaways

The Capitals finish up the pre season with a 5–0–2 record and 12 points. Evgeny Kuznetsov and John Carlson were both dominant. Each finished with a goal and 3 assists on the night. Oshie chipped in a goal and 2 assists, and Ovechkin’s 2 goals brought the first line totals to 4 goals and 6 assists for the game. As nice as the offensive outburst was to watch, the Islanders didn’t put anything close to their opening night team on the ice. With no John Tavares for the Islanders, the Capitals had a good night in the face-off circle. Kuznetsov posted his best of the pre season at 64% on 14 draws. While the shots looked in mid-season form, the structure and puck possession are still a work in progress. It’s hard to be critical of a 6–2 win, but the Capitals can be a lot better. I’m sure coach Trotz will be happy with the win but will find plenty to work on over the coming week in preparation for opening night.

From here on out they count!

By Ernie Mudd