Photo: Capitals Twitter

The Washington Capitals began a home-and-home set against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Thursday, winning 7-3. The Capitals came into this one riding a two-game win streak after beating the Winnipeg Jets 3-2 in overtime at Capital One Arena on Monday and extended it to three tonight. The Capitals and Islanders split their first two meetings with Washington prevailing 4-3 on November 2 at Capital One Arena and New York winning 3-1 at Barclays Center on December 11. 

Capitals Lineup vs. New York Islanders

#Caps lines in Brooklyn vs NYI:
8-Ovechkin, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson, 83-Beagle, 25-Smith-Pelly

6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
44-Orpik, 28-Jerabek

Grubauer vs Gibson. #CapsIsles

— Mike Vogel (@VogsCaps) March 15, 2018

First Period

Brock Nelson took a feed from Tanner Fritz behind the net and tucked it past Philipp Grubauer to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead just 2:19 into the game.

Lars Eller sniped one past Christopher Gibson for his 16th goal of the season from the right faceoff dot to tie the game at one. Jakub Vrana passed the puck from behind the net to set up Eller, who zipped it past Gibson. The goal was Eller’s third in three games against the Islanders this season and tied his career-high in goals.

Saucey pass + great screen + snipe #CapsIsles #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/QTKgaXCBhm

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 15, 2018

T.J. Oshie took a cross-ice feed from Andre Burakovsky and outwaited Gibson to get him down and out of position. He put a dart to the top corner for his first goal in his 19 games and his 13th of the season to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead 57 seconds after Eller tied it.

TJ gets back on the goal sheet for the first time in 18 games #CapsIsles #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/YTlAUp9Eis

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 15, 2018

One minute later, Andrew Ladd tied the game at two for his first goal in 25 games after taking a cross-ice feed from Matt Barzal, who racked up his 52nd assist of the season. He beat Grubauer below the blocker to even up the contest. The goal was Ladd’s 10th goal of the season.

Dmitry Orlov scored his career-high ninth goal of the season, wheeling around Ladd and beating Gibson from a sharp angle. The goal also marked his second in his past two against the Isles; he scored the Capitals’ lone goal in a 3-1 loss at Barclays Center on December 11. The goal gave Washington a 3-2 lead. Tom Wilson tallied his 100th point with an assist on the goal.

Shimmy shimmy, yeah! @orlov_09 #CapsIsles #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/dczDcDICU6

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 15, 2018

The Islanders led the Capitals 12-9 in shots, won 52% of the faceoffs, and 3-2 in takeaways.

The Capitals had the 8-5 advantage in hits and only had three giveaways to the Islanders’ seven after one period of play.

Each team had five blocked shots through 20 minutes.

Second Period

Andre Burakovsky doubled the Capitals lead deflecting a shot from defenseman Jakub Jerabek. Jerabek got his third assist in two games this season against the Islanders and his first point as a Capital after he took a pass from Matt Niskanen from the other side of the ice. Burakovsky got credited for his ninth goal of the season 3:12 into the middle frame for his second point of the night.

Jerabek picks up his first point as a Capital with the primary assist #CapsIsles #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/lY4k4PIXpx

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 16, 2018

Nicklas Backstrom made it 5-2 off a wild bounce off of Islanders’ defenseman Thomas Hickey’s back and into the net. Kuznetsov fed Backstrom in the slot to end Gibson’s night with 9:38 left in the second frame on the power play. Gibson got pulled after allowing five goals on 12 shots and Backstrom notched his 18th goal of the season.

This bounce was something#CapsIsles #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/q1VlZ1Lc9v

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) March 16, 2018

The Islanders led 14-8 in shots in the period and 26-17 after the second frame. They won 51% of the faceoffs. The Islanders were 0-for-3 on the power play through two.

The Capitals led 4-3 in takeaways and had only five giveaways, while the Islanders had 10.

Each team had 10 hits and seven blocked shots after two periods.

Third Period

John Carlson made it 6-2 after taking a pass from Alex Ovechkin who went behind the goal line and swung it to Carlson in the crease. Carlson buried one past Halak for his career-high 13th goal of the season and 56th point of the season.

Carlson scores the Caps’ sixth (yes, sixth) goal of the game. #CapsIsles pic.twitter.com/L6BILF8fie

— NBC Sports Capitals (@NBCSCapitals) March 16, 2018

Ryan Pulock bombed a shot from the point for his 7th goal of the season after it went right to him off of the faceoff. The goal cut the Capitals’ lead in half.

The Islanders led 12-5 in shots in the third period and 38-22 on the night. They also led 16-12 in hits and 5-4 in takeaways. New York won 52% of the faceoffs.

The Capitals led 17-9 in blocked shots. The Capitals had seven giveaways while the Isles had 15.

T.J. Oshie put his second of the night into the open net for his 14th goal of the season and his second of the game. Orlov got the assist and Oshie scored his first two-goal game since November 14 in a 6-3 loss to the Nashville Predators.

Philipp Grubauer made 35 saves for his third straight win and 11th of the season.

Game Stats

Shots:                     Capitals – 22                            Islanders – 38

Hits:                       Capitals – 16                             Islanders – 12

Faceoffs:               Capitals – 48%                          Islanders – 52%

Blocked Shots:     Capitals – 17                             Islanders – 9

Power Play:          Capitals – 1/1                            Islanders – 0/3

Game Highlights

Capitals and Islanders Do It Again on Friday

The two teams meet again at Capital One Arena on Friday night for the final meeting of the season between the two teams. The Capitals own a four-game home ice winning streak and will look to extend it to five with a win tomorrow night. The Islanders will enter tomorrow’s game 10 points south of Columbus for the final wild-card spot in the East. After tomorrow night’s game, the Capitals will play four of their next five on the road. Washington holds a two-point lead over Pittsburgh, who’s wrapping up a contest at Bell Centre with the Montreal Canadiens, for top spot in the division. Puck drop is at 7 PM on NBC Sports Washington.

By Harrison Brown