Takeaways: Kuemper, Capitals Escape With Point, Fall To Islanders In Shootout

The Capitals were able to earn a point in a hard-nosed defensive battle, but a skills competition resulted in a shootout loss to the Islanders.

WASHINGTON -- The first 40 minutes of action were rather quiet in a high-stakes showdown between the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders. Then, in the final 20, the game took a major turn -- and though it wasn't in the Capitals' favor, they escaped with a point thanks to Darcy Kuemper.

Kuemper stood on his head, Conor Sheary struck in regulation and the defense battled hard to help Washington survive after a lopsided third, but the team ultimately lost their hard-nosed defensive battle in a 2-1 shootout loss to the Islanders.

Here are all the takeaways live from D.C.

After going 21 games without a goal, Sheary has heated up over this recent stretch, and came in clutch once again on Wednesday.

With his team down 1-0 in the second, the 30-year-old battled his way to the slot and jumped on a loose puck before floating a backhander past Ilya Sorokin to even the score. He now has points in four straight games, including goals in three of those outings.

Nic Dowd also added to his career year, picking up his 13th assist of the season. He now has points in three of his last four contests. Dowd also had a huge block and clear to hold off NY on the penalty kill in overtime.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel also found the scoresheet and now has assists in back-to-back games. He additionally stuck up for Sheary, fighting Scott Mayfield after he boarded Sheary.

Washington came into Wednesday's tilt knowing that the team had to do whatever it took to get the win, and that meant sacrificing the body.

Through the first 40 minutes, the Capitals blocked 20 of 33 shot attempts from the Islanders. Trevor van Riemsdyk leading the way with four blocks, while Rasmus Sandin had three of his own.

Things took a turn in the final frame, though. New York tilted the ice and came out of the gate firing on all cylinders. Through the first half of the third, the Islanders were outshooting Washington 9-0, and at the end, outshot D.C. 15-3 in a lopsided third.

The hard-nosed defensive effort was a positive one for Washington, but the shootout decided the winner.

Two players that stepped up big time were Craig Smith and Nick Jensen.

Both were noticeable and all over the ice, as Smith came up with some nice moves to try and generate pressure, while Jensen was solid on the backcheck and did a solid job moving the puck up ice. He led the team with three shots on goal.

Alex Ovechkin led the way with four hits, including a huge one on Adam Pelech toward the end of the third. Tom Wilson and Martin Fehervary also brought the physicality, leading with three hits.

On the offensive side though, Ovechkin had a quiet night as he went without a shot on goal through regulation, had a lone shot in OT and saw his seven-game point streak come to an end.

Evgeny Kuznetsov also had some good chances and of course, scored the lone goal in the shootout with his classic slow-mo antics.