Photo: Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The Washington Capitals defeated the New York Islanders by a final score of 2-1 at NYCB Live/Nassau Coliseum on Friday night. The win gave the Capitals a two-point advantage for first place in the Metropolitan Division entering Saturday. Goaltender Ilya Samsonov made 25 saves in his NHL debut.

Capitals’ Lines at Islanders

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The Capitals made no line changes from their 3-2 comeback win in overtime against the defending Stanley Cup Champion St. Louis Blues on Wednesday. Center Evgeny Kuznetsov (suspended for inappropriate conduct) and defenseman Michal Kempny (hamstring injury) each missed their second consecutive game.

First Period

Forward Jakub Vrana sniped one from the right-wing on a two-on-one with defenseman Martin Fehervary after getting a pass from center Lars Eller in the defensive zone to get the Capitals on the board first 10:25 in.

VRANA THE MAN!#ALLCAPS #CapsIsles pic.twitter.com/6WV9XjIMrS
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 4, 2019

Defenseman Devon Toews tied the game 2:02 later, throwing the puck towards the net. The puck went off of Capitals defenseman Radko Gudas in front of Samsonov and trickled past him to get the Islanders on the board.

And the one blemish…🙄 #ALLCAPS pic.twitter.com/yWSF1Eu6ry

— NoVa Caps (@NoVa_Caps) October 5, 2019

The Capitals led 10-9 in shots and won 57% of the faceoffs in the first.

The Islanders led 14-7 in hits, 10-5 in blocked shots, 4-0 in takeaways, and had only five giveaways while the Capitals had 10 in the opening period.

Second Period

Forward T.J. Oshie poked in his first of the season from the bumper spot on the backhand after defenseman John Carlson’s shot was blocked by Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield in front of Varlamov to get the Capitals’ their one-goal lead back on the power-play with 2:17 left in the period.

Oshbabe pic.twitter.com/1tcqpfN0c3
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 5, 2019

The Capitals went 1-for-2 on the power-play in the first two periods.

The Islanders led 18-17 in shots, including 9-7 in the second, 21-15 in hits, 17-8 in blocked shots, and 7-2 in takeaways through 40 minutes. They went 0-for-1 on the power-play and had nine giveaways while the Capitals had 16 in the opening two periods.

Each team won 50% of the draws in the first two periods.

Third Period

The Capitals led 28-26 in shots, including 10-8 in the third, went 1-for-2 on the power-play, and won 51% of the faceoffs.

The Islanders led 29-21 in hits, 20-11 in blocked shots, and 10-3 in takeaways. They went 0-for-1 on the power-play and had 13 giveaways while the Capitals had 22.

Hear from Coach Reirden after the win on the Island.#ALLCAPS #CapsIsles pic.twitter.com/F8AjTzwKmw

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) October 5, 2019

The Capitals host the Carolina Hurricanes in their home opener on Saturday night. Action from Capital One Arena can be seen on NBC Sports Washington beginning at 7 PM ET.

By Harrison Brown