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Caps turn the Isles into big Long Island losers: Caps beat Islanders 5-1

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The Washington Capitals made the trip up to Long Island for their second matchup of the season with the New York Islanders. The Isles are amid a fierce battle for a Wild Card playoff spot in the Eastern Conference and the Caps were looking to throw a big ole wrench into that discussion.

Pierre Engvall kicked off the scoring with a bad bounce off Alex Alexeyev. Dylan Strome put something extra on a shot to tie the game and TJ Oshie gave the Caps a lead late in the first.

Anthony Mantha ended his 19-game streak without a goal to double the lead. Nic Dowd and Nicklas Backstrom added two more.

Caps beat Islanders 5-1!

  • There was some good and some bad in the first period from the Caps. Luckily, Darcy Kuemper is playing like a man possessed lately so the good outweighed the bad on the scoreboard. Would really love to see the Caps “win” a period from a process perspective.
  • Rasmus Sandin added three more points to his total as a Caps player. Eight points in his first four games donning a Caps jersey. What a start. This guy rocks.
  • I was really happy to see Trevor van Riemsdyk signed an extension earlier today. I wouldn’t worry about the term because I think his game ages very well. He is also well worth the $3 million cap hit. He responded with two points of his own in this game.

  • The Isles had just 13 shots through two periods so the Caps were clearly doing something right defensively. Don’t love the visitors getting just six shot attempts off at five-on-five in the second though. It felt like every shift was either bogged down in neutral or a one-and-done in the Isles zone.
  • The penalty kill was good. New York went 0-for-5 with a man advantage.
  • It’s so strange that the Caps and Isles didn’t meet for the second time until March 11 and they haven’t played each other once at Capital One Arena yet. What is that scheduling?
  • Good to see both Martin Fehervary and Nick Jensen off the shelf and back in the lineup. Really hoping that Fehervary in particular has a strong end to the 2022-23 campaign because it’s not been the strongest season in the world for the young rearguard to this point.

  • I asked the Caps to win a period process-wise in this game and they did in the third. The Isles had absolutely nothing in the final frame.
  • Anthony Mantha finally has a goal. He went 19 games without one. It’s his first in the 2023 calendar year.
  • The Isles were man-marking Alex Ovechkin on their penalty kill and Ovi was moving all over the Caps’ normal setup to try and get free. Normally, he’ll just camp the post when teams do that to him but it appears the strategy there may have changed a bit.

The Caps will enjoy a couple of days off before their next New York matchup with the Rangers on Tuesday.

Headline photo courtesy of @Jencapsfan74/Twitter

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