Winnie The Two

For the second time in as many games, the Caps got a two-goal game from one of their wingers. And for the second time in as many games, that's all the offense the Capitals got for the night. But this time around, two goals were enough.

Daniel Winnik scored twice to support a stifling team defensive effort and 21 Braden Holtby saves in the Washington net. The result was a hard-earned 2-1 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday night at Verizon Center in the Capitals' 2016-17 home opener.
"I thought as a line as a whole," says Winnik, "we were kind of all over them the whole game. I thought [the Islanders] had a really hard time handling our size and speed as a line."

After playing sparingly in Washington's 3-2 shootout loss to the Penguins on Thursday, Winnik and linemates Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson were given the assignment to check New York's top forward trio, featuring John Tavares. Not only did the Caps' trio keep Tavares and company off the scoresheet, they chipped in with all the offense the Caps would require on this night.

"I don't consider them our fourth line right now," says Caps coach Barry Trotz. "They're probably one of our best lines. Tonight, they were fantastic. I thought Beags' line got us going.

"It was good to see Winnie get a couple of goals. We want some offense from that line; I think they're capable of it, and it showed tonight. They can play against the top lines and shut them down, they can contribute offensively, so they were real huge for us."

The Capitals were benefactors of a pair of early power play opportunities, courtesy of a rookie gaffe on the part of Islanders freshman Mathew Barzal. Skating in the first shift of his NHL career, Barzal slashed Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov, putting Washington on the power play at 3:03.

During the two minutes in which Barzal was seated, the Caps managed only one shot attempt, and no shots on net. But Washington would get another extra man chance almost immediately. With his time served and the penalty box door open, Barzal reached out and played the puck with his stick, incurring an interference minor that kept him boxed for another two minutes.

The Caps had a little more success with that second power play chance - putting four shots at the New York net - but fortunately for Barzal, they didn't score.

Washington did draw first blood, though. Seconds after he repelled an intended hit from Thomas Hickey by bouncing the Isles defenseman to the ice, John Carlson floated a wrist shot toward the net from the right point. Parked right in front of New York netminder Thomas Greiss, Caps winger Daniel Winnik deflected Carlson's shot in for a 1-0 Caps lead at 11:58.

The Isles answered quickly, doing so on their first power play chance of the night. With Karl Alzner off for holding, Ryan Strome's tried to send a pass to Cal Clutterbuck in the slot. Instead, the puck hit Caps rearguard Brooks Orpik and went behind Holtby to even the count at 1-1 at 13:49 of the first.

Just ahead of the eight-minute mark of the middle period, the Caps regained the lead on a pretty goal in which they traversed the length of the ice in a matter of seconds.

Brooks Orpik backhanded the puck around the back of the Washington net to Karl Alzner, who picked it up in the left wing corner of the Caps' end. Also via his backhand, Alzner shoveled the puck off the glass and safely into neutral ice, where Winnik one-handed it toward the Isles line. Winnik and New York defenseman Travis Hamonic raced for the disc, and when Winnik chipped it again with one hand, Hamonic lost his footing and wiped out. That left Winnik with a short breakaway, and he deked Greiss and beat him to make it a 2-1 game at 7:46.

Owning the lead once again, the Caps successfully sucked the air out of the ball the rest of the way. Washington limited the Islanders to nine shots in the 32 minutes and 14 seconds of hockey that were played after Winnik's second goal staked the Caps to their second one-goal lead.

New York went eight and a half minutes without any shots on net over the middle of the second period, finally getting a couple - although one was from 60 feet away - during a power play while Caps forward Zach Sanford was off for hooking.

In the third period, the Islanders managed just five shots on net and only one of the five came from inside 62 feet away. New York did manage some zone time, some looks and some chances with Greiss pulled for an extra attacker late in the game, but the Isles were limited to one shot on net - from 62 feet - over the last 10 minutes and 17 seconds.

"The systems obviously allow for that," says Beagle, "to shut down teams once we have a lead. It's a matter of sticking to it. We have a lot of depth on our team, and we've been working on our defensive game for the last two years, three years. Ever since Trotzy came in with the systems, we've been getting stronger and stronger in the [defensive] zone and on the defensive side of the puck. It's good to see."

With Saturday's loss, the Islanders fall to 0-2 on the season. They now head home to start a five-game homestand, beginning tomorrow night against Anaheim.

"At the end of the day, we've got to score some goals," says Islanders coach Jack Capuano. "We've got to find a way to score here. It took us 40 minutes [to score] in New York, and just one power-play goal here tonight off Orpik's leg. We had chances, we've just got to find a way."

They had some chances, but the Islanders had very little in the way of strong chances once the Caps went up 2-1.

"I thought our group managed the third period pretty well," says Trotz. "We got caught watching that puck almost go in - and it didn't - and we were scrambling off the bench with about three seconds left. But I thought we managed it pretty well. I thought we created some things and didn't give up much."
Doubling Up - Two goals from Daniel Winnik - one deft and one dazzling - and a stalwart team defensive effort enabled the Caps to earn their first win of the 2016-17 season on Saturday night, a 2-1 triumph over the New York Islanders in Washington's home opener.

Winnik deflected a John Carlson point shot past New York netminder Thomas Greiss to give the Caps a 1-0 lead midway through the first period, and he turned Greiss inside out on a breakaway goal just ahead of the midpoint of the middle period. That was all the offense Braden Holtby (21 saves) would require to earn his first win of 2016-17.

Down the stretch and into the playoffs last season, Winnik skated mainly on the left side of a line with Jay Beagle and Tom Wilson. Because Wilson suffered an upper body injury in the Caps' first preseason game this fall, and because Beagle didn't suit up for the preseason finale, the trio didn't get to play together until opening night in Pittsburgh on Thursday.

A number of circumstances led to the unit being used sparingly against the Penguins. A fighting major early in the game left Wilson unavailable for several minutes. Caps coach Barry Trotz was trying to generate some offense in a tight game, so he rode his top nine forwards while Winnik and company sat. Finally, the trio couldn't even garner its normal complement of shorthanded ice time. Washington was tasked with only two shorthanded missions in the season opener against the Pens, and neither went the full two minutes.

At night's end, the Winnik-Beagle-Wilson trio were all under eight minutes in ice time for a 65-minute game, playing slightly more than half as much as they normally would.

On Saturday against the Islanders, the trio was back in its usual role. Trotz frequently deployed them against New York's top offensive line of Andrew Ladd, John Tavares and Jason Chimera. The Beagle line accounted for all of Washington's offense, and it turned in a solid night's work in its own end as well.

"It's something that I think all three of us has done throughout our career," says Winnik of going against the opposition's top offensive units. "Beags is a great shutdown guy, and it's a role I've had a lot throughout my career and we like that challenge. It's nice when you can chip in offensively."

Winnik's two-goal outing followed Andre Burakovsky's two-goal game in the Caps' season opener at Pittsburgh on Thursday. According to Elias Sports Bureau, this marks the second time in the last seven seasons the Caps have had multiple-goal games in each of the first two games of the season.

In 2013-14, Mikhail Grabovski recorded an opening night hat trick for the Caps, and that performance was followed by Alex Ovechkin's two-goal game in the next contest.

Shutdown Street - Once Winnik supplied what would prove to be the game-winning goal at 7:46 of the second period, the Caps blanketed the Islanders quite effectively the rest of the way. New York managed just nine shots on net over the final 32 minutes and 14 seconds of the game, trailing by just a goal the entire time. Two of those nine shots came on an Islanders power play late in the second period, and only three of those final nine shots came from inside of 30 feet.

The Islanders had five shots on net in the third period, only one of them from inside of 62 feet. New York had a good deal of offensive zone time in the final two minutes of the game with Greiss pulled for an extra attacker, but the Caps did well in clogging up shooting and passing lanes and denying the Isles any prime real estate down low and any good, long looks at the Washington net.

"We're happy with the fact that we've only given up one even-strength goal [in two games]," says Trotz, "but I thought in Pittsburgh we were pretty loose with the puck. We gave up a lot of chances - a lot of Grade A's - just by not securing the puck, careless turnovers and not really playing the right way. When we get playing the right way, we had stretches in the second period where we kept a pair of their defensemen out there for long periods of time.

"That's how we have to play. Let's not give them the puck; they have to take it off us, that type of thing. A couple of focuses are on us - we have to continue to shoot more and continue to put pressure on that net with a lot more net presence so we can get more five-on-five goals."

(Lack of) Special Delivery -Washington was one of the league's top clubs in special teams play last season, finishing in the league's top five in both power play and penalty killing. Through six periods this season, the Caps are 0-for-8 on the power play and they're 2-for-4 on the penalty kill.

There were times last season when the Caps went 0-for-8 on the power play and instances when they gave up power-play goals in consecutive games. Few were worried then, and few should be worried now. The sample size is extremely small. Washington is one of seven teams without a power-play goal so far, and it is one of 24 teams which are not perfect on the penalty kill.

Both power-play goals against the Caps were scored on deflections, and the one in Pittsburgh went to video review for a possible high stick, a call that could have gone either way.

While the Caps haven't shown their usual level of precision on the power play in the first six periods of the season, both of Washington's first two 2016-17 opponents were also among the league's five best penalty-killing teams last season.

Last season, the Caps were 1-for-10 (10%) on the power play against the Isles and they were 2-for-16 (12.5%) against the Penguins.

On the plus side of the ledger, the Caps have drawn twice as many extra-man chances as they've faced in the early going.

Sanford Shines - Caps forward Zach Sanford showed some offensive ability during the preseason, enabling the 21-year-old to make the team's opening night roster. But on Saturday night, he made a pair of critical defensive plays for Washington while the Caps were nursing a one-goal lead late in the game.

Sanford made a strong read and then used his long reach and stick to break up what otherwise would have been a two-on-none New York rush from the Washington blueline midway through the third period, and he later managed to clear a puck out of the zone along the wall in front of the Caps' bench in a situation where it appeared as though Washington might have been outnumbered down low if he hadn't cleared it.

"He has had some pretty good tests coming out of college," says Trotz of Sanford. "The preseason is one thing and training camp is one thing and now it's another level. We just threw him to the wolves in game one and he's doing fine. He has made some real good plays defensively and I've got a lot of trust in him when he's out there.

"The strength is a lot different, so some of those pure strength battles he'll probably have to get a little stronger as he goes along here. But he's got such reach and hockey sense. All of things are going to be fine.

"I think his role will increase as we go forward through the year. We'll just play it one game at a time, but we're thinking about him long-term, just as we did with Burakovsky and Kuznetsov and those guys. I think he is going to be a real good player for us for a long time."

Tribute to Chim-Dawg - After playing 490 games in a Washington sweater over the last six-plus seasons, Islanders winger Jason Chimera skated against the Caps in a regular season game for the first time since Nov. 1, 2009, when he was a member of the Columbus Blue Jackets.

The Capitals showed a rousing tribute video to Chimera's years in Washington, stirring the sellout crowd to a loud, long and standing ovation for the swift and ageless Chimera, long a fan favorite in the District.

"It's just a game," said Chimera afterwards. "I'm with the Islanders now. It was a nice moment there when they gave me the tribute, but you move on. I've put it in the past already. You want to win for this team now."

Chimera was also complimentary to the local folks here in and around D.C.

"They're just classy people," says Chimera. "It's a great city to be in. I had a lot of good people treat me really well here. They're a knowledgeable fan base and they're a good fan base. For the most part, I've been treated first class all the way."

Inauspicious Debut - Islanders center Mathew Barzal, the team's first-round choice (16th overall) in the 2015 NHL Draft, made his NHL debut for New York on Saturday night against the Capitals. A skilled player with a bright future who has looked good against the Washington in preseason outings these last two years, Barzal endured a trying debut.

On his very first shift in the NHL, Barzal lost a neutral zone draw to Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov. Less than half a minute later, he earned his first trip to the penalty box with a slash on Kuznetsov.

With the penalty box door open and Barzal about to be freed, he unwisely reached out and played the puck while both feet were still in the box, thereby incurring another minor penalty. At this early juncture of his NHL career, Barzal had 25 seconds in ice time and four minutes in penalties.

In the third period, Barzal committed yet another penalty, this one a tripping call for hauling down Karl Alzner in the offensive zone.

At night's end, Barzal had 10:10 in ice time and six PIM. He won two of six draws, was credited with a hit, and skated a bit more than a minute while the Islanders were on the power play. He should have many good NHL nights ahead of him, but this wasn't one of them.

"He'll never forget that first shift, will he," quipped Isles coach Jack Capuano. "You know what, it's a tough shift for him, but as I told him, the rink is still 200x85 [feet]. Just go out and have fun, play your game. He's a skill guy, there's no doubt.

"I thought he rebounded well after that. We kept playing him, gave him some ice time. We showed some confidence in him to go out and play and we'll evaluate it as we move forward."

Down On The Farm - The AHL Hershey Bears are off to an 0-2 start to the season after a pair of weekend setbacks.

The Bears dropped their season opener on Friday night in Rochester against the Americans, falling 5-4. Jakub Vrana scored twice and Hubert Labrie and Brad Malone added solo strikes to account for the Hershey offense in the opener.

Hershey outshot the Americans by 29-12 in the opener, but Bears goalie Joe Cannata was dented for five goals on a dozen shots.

A night later, the Bears were in Binghamton to face the Senators. Hershey suffered a 3-0 loss in that one, surrendering one goal in each period. Vitek Vanecek stopped 28 of the 30 shots he faced in the Hershey nets in that contest.

The Bears are idle until Saturday when they host the Bridgeport Sound Tigers in their 2016-17 home opener at Giant Center.

By The Numbers - Carlson led the Capitals with 22:06 in ice time, six shots on net and four blocked shots … Ovechkin paced the Caps with 10 shot attempts … Beagle won 11 of 15 draws (73%).