The narrative of this year's abbreviated season has been that every game is a 'playoff game' or 'four-point match' and Tuesday's game was just that. Both teams put forth a playoff-level of compete in a tight-checking, hard-hitting match that came down to a margin of inches and execution of opportunities.
Off the opening faceoff, the Islanders pushed the pace early on - hoping to set the tone and challenge the fatigued Caps, who were on the second leg of a back-to-back set. Washington's lineup featured an 11 forward, seven defensemen assembly as they were without Lars Eller (day-to-day lower body injury) and Tom Wilson, who was serving his sixth game of his seven-game suspension.
Early on in the game, the Caps weathered the Islanders push and even killed off the first penalty of the game as Mathew Barzal drew a hooking penalty on Justin Schultz at 11:03. Both teams entered the first intermission having staved off each other's pushes. The Islanders held an 11-7 shot advantage.
"I liked our first period, I wish we would have come out ahead in the first," Trotz said. "I thought we deserved to, we had lots of pace to it and some really good looks. I thought Samsonov made some really key saves for them."
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Following a hard-fought first period, the Capitals executed a dominant second period with two goals and a 7-4 shot advantage. The Islanders began the period with a big kill on Casey Cizikas' tripping penalty at 3:19. While the kill provided the Islanders a confidence boost - especially with one of their best penalty killers in the box - the Capitals continued to ramp up the pressure.
Their push finally broke as T.J. Oshie scored their first goal of the night at 10:36. After forcing a turnover, the Caps turned and charged on a counter. On their three-on-one rush - with Ryan Pulock scrambling in the Islanders' zone - Ovechkin sprung Evgeny Kuznetsov at the Islanders' blueline. Kuznetsov faked a slap shot to pull Varlamov out of his crease before swiping the puck past the Islanders goalie. While Varlamov was initially saved by his back post, a crashing Oshie buried the deflection to give the Caps a 1-0 lead.
Down by a goal, the Islanders did themselves no favors as they went on their second penalty kill of the night following Barzal's cross-checking penalty at 13:34. With 10 seconds left on the Capitals power play, their top unit went to work. From his office at the right faceoff circle, Ovechkin blasted his signature one-timer to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead and to score his 718th career goal to surpass Phil Esposito and overtake sole ownership of sixth place in the NHL's all-time goals scored list.
"[In the] second period I thought we were fine, we were going okay," Trotz said. "Then, there was a bit of a missed call on Wahlstrom, he had his legs scooped out in the slot, especially a high-danger scoring chance. [They] come down, Kuznetsov makes a play and a loose puck in our crease, we sort of skated by the crease, they scored there. Then, we took a bad penalty. Ovechkin scores that second goal and that sort of turned it for them."
The Capitals nearly extended their lead to 3-0, but Varlamov made a huge stop on a Garnet Hathaway breakaway to provide the Islanders some breathing room. Frustrations continued to build between the two fervid opponents and the period ended with an exchange between Scott Mayfield and Caps winger Richard Panik in front of Washington's bench.
The discrepancy between players resulted in the Islanders starting the third period on the kill, where the Capitals quickly converted and extended their lead to 3-0. Backstrom buried a Jakub Vrana's slick feed through the seam on the doorstep just 28 seconds into the period and the Caps' power play.
The Islanders denied Samsonov the shutout at 4:17 as they converted on Vrana's holding penalty. Zdeno Chara dug the puck out from the boards and sent it up ice where Wahlstrom intercepted the pass, through a fake and then rifled in his sixth goal of his rookie season.
With the Islanders deficit cut down 3-1, they deflated their own momentum as they took their fourth trip to the penalty box on Sebastian Aho's holding penalty at 4:32. While the Islanders killed off the penalty, they were stifled by a willed Caps group. Even with Varlamov pulled in the final two minutes of play in exchange for an extra skater, Washington evaded the Islanders looks.
