The New York Islanders needed a bounce-back win after their 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that they got, as they defeated the Washington Capitals 5-1 Friday night at UBS Arena.
ELMONT, NY – The New York Islanders needed a bounceback win after their 7-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and that they got, as they defeated the Washington Capitals 2-0 Friday night at UBS Arena.
Here’s how it happened.
The first period ended scoreless but did not lack action, as both teams had several scoring chances. Capitals starter Charlie Lindgren was injured and had to leave the game before the seven-minute mark, prompting Darcy Kuemper to step into the crease.
Capitals defenseman Martin Fehrevary left the game shortly after, at 6:46 of the first.
After the Islanders were pinned in their own zone, a strong play by a stick-less Simon Holmstrom led to a zone exit. Following some strong passing from Julien Gauthier to Alexander Romanov after crossing the Capitals’ blue line, Romanov teed Pageau up at the left dot before he roofed one past the glove of Kuemper at 4:51 of the second period to give the Islanders a 1-0 lead.
Just 1:08 later, the Islanders doubled their lead to 2-0. Mathew Barzal dropped the puck for Noah Dobson at the top of the right circle, whose slapshot cleanly beat Kuemper glove side.
Bo Horvat was credited with the secondary assist.
The Islanders carried a 2-0 lead into the third period, as Ilya Sorokin came up big with large with a handful of key saves in the middle frame.
There was a chance for the Islanders to take advantage on a power play but a Brock Nelson interference penalty erased most of it.
Great anticipation from Gauthier helped move the Islanders lead to 3-0 as he pounced on a rebound 10:10 into the third. Gauthier wasn’t done as he scored again just 18 seconds later on a 2-on-1. Pageau assisted both goals, with Horvat and Bolduc contributing with the secondaries.
For Gauthier, it was the first two-goal game of his career, with three points in the game.
Pageau made it 5-0 for the Islanders at 14:26 with his second goal and fourth point of the game. He found himself alone on a breakaway and made a nifty move before lifting the puck to the toy department. Holmstrom was given the lone assist.
Sorokin was just 17.9 seconds away from recording his third shutout of the season, but a bad bounce had the puck slip by, putting the Capitals on the board. Nic Aube-Kubel was credited with the goal making it 5-1.
The Islanders closed it out and got the much-needed win.
UP NEXT: The Islanders head to Pittsburgh for a New Year’s Eve showdown with the Penguins on Sunday.
LINES:
Anders Lee -- Bo Horvat -- Mathew Barzal
Pierre Engvall -- Brock Nelson – Kyle Palmieri
Simon Holmstrom -- Jean-Gabriel Pageau -- Julien Gauthier
Matt Martin -- Cal Clutterbuck – Hudson Fasching
Alexander Romanov -- Noah Dobson
Samuel Bolduc -- Robert Bortuzzo
Mike Reilly -- Sebastian Aho
Ilya Sorokin
Ken Appleby