3 Takeaways: Islanders Fall 4-1 to Capitals 

The New York Islanders fell to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night with a final score of 4-1, extending their winless streak to four games (0-3-1).

Alexander Romanov scored for the Islanders, but goals from Alex Ovechkin (2G), Nic Dowd and Aliaksei Protas powered Washington’s second consecutive win on a back-to-back set. Semyon Varlamov turned aside 24 of 27 in the loss, while Hunter Shepard made 36 saves in his second NHL start and win.

“There's no question it's difficult,” said Head Coach Lane Lambert. “The effort was certainly there. We put almost 100 shot attempts on [Shepard], and to his credit he played a great game. We just have to find a way to put the puck in the back of the net.” 

The Islanders (13 points) lost ground in the Metropolitan Division standings with the loss, as they were leapfrogged by Pittsburgh Penguins (14 points), who beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-0. The Capitals (16 points) entered the game one point ahead of the Islanders, but extended that to three points with the regulation win.

“It’s hard right now, it was an important game for us,” Brock Nelson said. “We had a pretty good first, but we found ourselves late in the game and we couldn’t find a way to get back into it.”

ISLES FALL BEHIND IN SECOND PERIOD, UNABLE TO STAGE COMEBACK

The Islanders got off to a decent start on Saturday night, continuing the recent trend of strong first periods, but despite constant pressure in the first 20 minutes, the Capitals were able to jump on board first.

Evgeny Kuznetsov won a faceoff in the Islanders zone back to Alex Ovechkin who was there to collect the puck and snap it through Varlamov to open the scoring at 9:18, but the Islanders were able to get it back before the end of the period.

Alexander Romanov sent the puck into the Capitals zone, where Shepard went out of position to play the puck. The Capitals goaltender shot the puck off a Washington skate and Bo Horvat took advantage of the misplay and sent the puck to the point, where Romanov was able to fire off a one-timer to tie the game at 19:17.

Romanov proved to be a bright spot for the Isles in the matchup, as the defenseman netted his first goal and point of the year and stood out on the scoresheet. The 23-year-old recorded 10 shot attempts (four on goal, three attempted and three missed) and one hit, but Head Coach Lane Lambert pointed out his defensive abilities stood out the most, especially against Washington’s key top players.

“It was nice to see him score,” Lambert said. “But that wasn't the part that I thought he was best at. He defended pretty hard, especially matched up against the Ovechkin-Wilson line.” 

The Capitals turned the tide in the middle frame and had two goals to show for it, cranking up their chances and causing the Islanders to chase.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel drove to the net and got a shot off, where Varlamov dove to get a piece of it, but Nic Dowd was positioned in the crease to bat the puck into the net to take a 2-1 advantage. The go-ahead goal came just after an awkward Islanders line change, where defenseman Sebastian Aho had to let the puck go by for fear of taking a too many men penalty.

Washington tacked onto that lead late in the second period. Matthew Phillips set up Aliaksei Protas, who got a shot off in the slot area to extend the lead for his first goal of the season. 

The Capitals recorded 12 of the final 15 shots of the period and outshot the Islanders 15-9 overall through middle stanza. Despite outshooting Washington 16-6 in the final frame, the Islanders were unable to find the back of the net and couldn’t jumpstart a comeback.

“We didn’t generate as much in the second,” Nelson said. “In the third, we got a little bit more, but we couldn’t find a way to gain the momentum to get somewhere.”

ENGVALL IN, WAHLSTROM OUT; PELECH MISSES SECOND STRAIGHT

Lambert shuffled the lines ahead again ahead of Saturday’s matchup against Washington, in hopes of creating a spark to snap their three-game winless skid. 

After sitting out in Thursday’s contest against the Bruins, Pierre Engvall returned to the lineup and started the game playing alongside his regular linemates in Palmieri and Nelson. Engvall skated 16:05 and tied for a team-high four shots on goal. Oliver Wahlstrom did not play as a result. Anders Lee started the game with JG Pageau and Hudson Fasching while Simon Holmstrom started the game with Mathew Barzal and Bo Horvat.

However, down 3-1 heading into the third period, Lambert jumbled his lines wholesale.

The Islanders were without Adam Pelech for the third time in the last four games. 

ISLES SHIFTING FOCUS TO UPCOMING ROAD TRIP

After a two week stretch where the Islanders went 1-3-2, including an 0-2-2 record at home, the Islanders are looking to shift the focus onto their first extended road trip of the season.

“It's a big road trip for us,” Horvat said. “We would’ve liked a better homestand, but this is a good opportunity to show what we’re made of and get some wins here on the road.”

Without much time two dwell on the four-game winless streak, the Islanders are travelling to Edmonton for a Monday showdown in the first of four games of their Western Canada road trip. 

“It’ll be a turning point for us,” Nelson said. “We need to turn it around and get our game going.”