Photo: NHL
The Washington Capitals lost to the New York Islanders 3-0 on Thursday night at Verizon Center. The Capitals record dropped to 13-7-2. The Capitals leave for Tampa on Friday to get set to face the Lightning on Saturday night. Puck drop is 7:00 PM.
Jakub Vrana, called up from Hershey Wednesday evening, made his NHL debut in this game.
Paul Carey, also called up from Hershey on Wednesday, was scratched due to illness. Taylor Chorney was a healthy scratch.
Braden Holtby got the start in net for the Capitals. Former Washington Capitals Jaroslav Halak got the start between the pipes for the Islanders.
QUICK NOTES
- The Capitals 15 1st rounders on tonight’s roster is the most in the NHL (Jets currently have 14). The Capitals nine homegrown first round draft picks is also the most in the league (Jets, 8). (@Capitals PR)
- The Capitals power play continues to flounder, going 0-4 in the first two periods and 0-8 going back to the last game.
- Alex Ovechkin did not have a good game, and was whistled for the Capitals first two penalties.
- Dmitry Orlov had a very poor third period, turning the puck over on the Islanders first two goals of the period.
- Another third period collapse for the Caps.
FIRST PERIOD
A swift pace to the start of this one, with scoring chances for both sides.The Caps were whistled for the game’s first penalty when Alex Ovechkin was called for interference at 3:49 of the opening frame. The Islanders power play applied decent pressure, but could not find the back of the net. The blistering pace of play continued with few stoppages, as the first ten minutes of game time took just 13 minutes of actual time to play. The Capitals would get their first man advantage with 6:35 left in the first period. The Capitals had good zone time, with three shots but could not convert. The Caps would return to the power play with 1:56 remaining in the first period. Justin Williams would knock home a close-range goal as time expired, but the goal was ruled to have occurred after time had expired.
The non goal 😐 #CapsIsles on @CSNMA pic.twitter.com/HAT17jTwhv
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 2, 2016
The period would end in a 0-0 tie, with shots on goal tied at 11-11.
SECOND PERIOD
A rather pedestrian first ten minutes to the second period, with very little in the way of quality scoring chances for either side. The Caps stepped up the offensive zone pressure midway through the middle frame. Alex Ovechkin was called for slashing at 11:17 of the second period giving the Islanders their second power play of the game. The Capitals penalty kill would once again stymie the Islanders man advantage. The Capitals would return to the power play at the 13:18 mark but the Caps would be unable to mount much in the way of scoring chances, as the power play continued to flounder. The Capitals would return to the power play with 1:52 left in the middle frame, but the Capitals would once again be unable to convert. The second period would end with the teams remaining tied 0-0. The Capitals led in shots on goal 22-20 through two periods of play.
THIRD PERIOD
The Capitals would go on their fifth power play just 37 seconds into the final frame. This time the Caps would generate shots and scoring chances, unfortunately the results were the same. The Islanders would finally light the lamp on a turnover by Orlov, with Shane Prince potting the break-away finisher at 3:15 of the final frame.
The Islanders would add another by Brock Nelson at the 6:45 to give the Islanders a 2-0 lead. The goal came as the result of another Orlov turnover.
Former Washington Capital Jason Chimera would extend the Islanders lead to 3-0 at the 7:43 mark of the final frame.
The Washington highlight of the night, came from the mighty mights tilt during the second intermission.
“He looks like little @EJHradek_NHL with the glasses!” – @Rupper17 #NHLTonight pic.twitter.com/GzkgQhMWkR
— NHL Network (@NHLNetwork) December 2, 2016
By Jon Sorensen
Follow @NoVa_Caps
SCENES FROM VERIZON CENTER
Ten of the #Caps‘ 12 forwards tonight are first-round picks, seven by them. pic.twitter.com/Im18fJUMHA
— Stephen Whyno (@SWhyno) December 1, 2016
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