Capitals Fall To Islanders 4-3

Photo by Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Islanders 4-3 Tuesday night at Barclays Center. The loss dropped the Capitals record to 20-9-4. The Capitals next host the New Jersey Devils Thursday night at Verizon Center. Puck drop is 7:00PM.

Zach Sanford, Daniel Winnik and Taylor Chorney were the healthy scratches for tonight’s contest. Rumors swirled on Tuesday that Sanford may return to Hershey on Wednesday.

Braden Holtby got the start in goal for the Caps. Holtby is 15-7-0-3 with a 1.98 GAA and .929 save percentage for the season.

Jaroslav Halak got the start for the Islanders. This was Halak’s first start since facing the Capitals two weeks ago, on December 13th.

QUICK NOTES

After a slow start to the season, Justin Williams now has 8 goals, and is on pace for a 20-goal season.
With a first period assist, Dmitry Orlov now has 8 assists in the last 10 games.
Alex Ovechkin tied Blackhawks alum Stan Mikita with his 541st career goal (30th most in NHL history). His 992nd career point.
After tying the game at 2-2 early in the third period, the Islanders tallied two quick goals to essentially put the game away.
The Capitals had two power plays, one at the 5:00 minute mark and one at the 3:00 minute mark of the third period. Both power plays came up empty.
Caps have lost 3 of their last 4 games.
First time the Caps have lost all season when scoring three goals.

FIRST PERIOD
The Islanders held the early advantage in offensive zone time through the first five minutes. The Islanders would net the first tally on a two-on-two break away rush, finished off by Cal Clutterbuck at 8:02 of the first period. The rush was setup by a Dmitry Orlov turnover in the Caps offensive zone.

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Justin Williams would tie the game on a rebound at 13:24 of the opening frame.

Net front presence @JustinWilliams #CapsIsles on @csnma pic.twitter.com/ia4FRpYWLX

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 28, 2016

The period would end with the game tied 1-1. The Capitals were 0-1 on the power play. The Islanders had no power plays. The Caps led in shots on goal 13-9 through one period of play.

SECOND PERIOD
The Islanders had three consecutive power plays in the first nine minutes of the middle frame, as Nate Schmidt was called for hooking, the Caps were called for too many men on the ice when Alex Ovechkin jumped on the ice too soon, and Justin Williams was called for interference, but the Capitals penalty kill was just too strong, shutting down all three of the Islanders man-advantages. The Islanders would grab the lead back on a goal by Andrew Ladd at 14:03 of the middle frame.

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The period would end with the Islanders leading 2-1. The Islanders led in shots on goal 12-9 in the second period. Shots on goal for the first two periods was tied 22-22.

THIRD PERIOD
Alex Ovechkin would tie the game just 1:17 into the final frame.