Samsonov and Caps Prevail in Shootout, 1-0

Ilya Samsonov made 26 saves to record his second shutout of the season and Evgeny Kuznetsov's shootout goal was the difference as the Capitals eked out a 1-0 win over the Islanders in New York on Thursday night in the first of three straight games between the two longtime rivals.

Samsonov was particularly excellent in the first period when he made 15 saves, with 10 of them coming before the first television timeout. Among his key stops in the first 20 minutes were an early save on Kyle Palmieri's rush chance from the slot and a stop of Mathew Barzal's breakaway bid and quick follow-up with less than two minutes to go in the period.
Following a rare three-day break in the schedule, the Caps were slow in finding their legs and they were outshot 15-4 and out-attempted 21-9 in the first period, but Samsonov kept them in it.
"He was really sharp in the first," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette of Samsonov. "He had to make a few good ones in the second and a few good ones in the third, but while we were finding our legs from those three days off, he gave us an opportunity to come back in the second and third period and play a really strong game.
"I thought he made big saves the entire night. But most of them were in the first period."

Washington found its groove at the outset of the second and dominated the final 40 minutes of regulation in terms of both possession and scoring chances. Over the second and third periods, the Capitals managed a lopsided 38-13 advantage in 5-on-5 shot attempts and they outshot the Isles 23-10 in the process.
The Caps still needed some key stops from Samsonov in the midst of those strong final 40 minutes. A pad stop on a Nick Leddy point shot was big just ahead of the seven-minute mark of the second, because he got his pad outside of a waiting New York stick for a tip-in opportunity. Samsonov shrugged off a Josh Bailey rush chance later in the second, too.
In the third, Samsonov made one of his best saves of the game on Palmieri, staying with him and denying him from in tight.
New York netminder Semyon Varlamov shutout the Caps 1-0 in this building 16 nights ago, and he was also excellent once again, extending his personal shutout streak over the team that drafted him to 145 minutes and 59 seconds. Varalmov finished the night with 28 saves.
Even in the first when the Caps were struggling, the newly cobbled forward trio of Conor Sheary, Lars Eller and recently acquired Michael Raffl - who made his Caps debut on Thursday - was strong. That line turned in a solid performance throughout, combining for eight shots on net and 14 attempts. Sheary led the team with five shots on net.
"We talked about it a little bit about before the game," says Eller, "about being really close to each other so we forced we forced a lot of turnovers. And because we were close together we were supporting each other in the offensive zone. Sometimes we had all three guys below the hash marks, and once we got it we just didn't want to give it up."
The Caps had the game's first three power play opportunities - all in the first 40 minutes - while both of New York's extra-man chances came in quick succession in the third period.
Overtime was more of a chess match than a run and gun duel. The Isles had the puck more than Washington, but the Caps' coverage was stellar, as they forced to New York back to neutral zone frequently to regroup and/or to change. Each team managed just a single shot on net in the extra session.

In the shootout, New York opted to shoot first, and the Isles also scored first, getting an Anthony Beauvillier goal in the top of the second frame. Nicklas Backstrom stepped up and scored in the pressure situation as he has done so many times over the years, and when New York's Brock Nelson missed at the top of the third, the stage was set for Kuznetsov.
The Caps center skated in and beat Varlamov with a hard wrist shot to the stick side, enabling Washington to come away with a victory and two points on a night when they were again unable to solve Varlamov.
"It was tough," says Isles coach Barry Trotz. "I thought Samsonov played really good. If we could have gotten a lead, I think it would have given us a little spark hopefully for the second [period], but we know this is a good team we're playing, and it's going to come in waves.
"I thought we won the first [period]. I thought we took a couple of penalties and lost all of our momentum; we had some hard minutes obviously [against] a number one power play."
The two teams will tangle again here on Saturday night before they face one another for the final time in the regular season on Tuesday night in Washington.