Game Recap – 11/26/2018 – Washington Capitals v. New York Islanders

Washington Capitals (13-7-3 29pts) v. New York Islanders (12-8-2 24pts)

 

Preview:

The Washington Capitals continue their Mentors Trip with a visit to the New York Islanders as they look to win their sixth game in a row when they take on their former bench boss Barry Trotz. Meanwhile the Islanders will be looking to continue building off of their win Saturday against the Carolina Hurricanes, where they are also 9-1-0 this season against Metropolitan Division rivals.

 

Key players to watch will be Islanders forward Anthony Beauvillier who has five goals and two assists in his past five games. While for the Capitals, Tom Wilson has been a key catalyst for the team since returning from suspension.

 

Lineups:

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom — Tom Wilson

Jakub Vrana — Lars Eller — Brett Connolly

Andre Burakovsky — Travis Boyd — Devante Smith-Pelly

Dmitrij Jaskin — Nic Dowd — Chandler Stephenson

Dmitry Orlov — Matt Niskanen

Michal Kempny — John Carlson

Christian Djoos – Madison Bowey

Braden Holtby

Pheonix Copley

Scratched: Jonas Siegenthaler

Injured: Evgeny Kuznetsov (upper body), T.J. Oshie (concussion), Brooks Orpik (knee surgery)

 

New York Islanders:

Anders Lee — Brock Nelson — Jordan Eberle

Anthony Beauvillier — Mathew Barzal — Josh Bailey

Tom Kuhnhackl — Valtteri Filppula — Leo Komarov

Matt Martin — Tanner Fritz — Cal Clutterbuck

Nick Leddy — Johnny Boychuk

Thomas Hickey — Ryan Pulock

Adam Pelech — Scott Mayfield

Thomas Greiss

Robin Lehner

Scratched: Luca Sbisa, Stephen Gionta, Ross Johnston

Injured: Casey Cizikas (lower body), Andrew Ladd (lower body)

 

First Period:

Islanders Goal – :36 – Valtteri Filppula (7) from Ryan Pulock (6) and Leo Komarov (8)

Capitals Goal – 2:50 – Tom Wilson (5) from Nicklas Backstrom (20) and Madison Bowey (4)

 

End of 1st – WAS – 1       NYI – 1

Shots              12                08

Faceoffs         05                07

Hits               07                  12

PP                 0/0                 0/0

 

Analysis:

Not the greatest start for the Capitals as they were scored on quickly, but how they responded was spectacular. Tom Wilson would score not much later and after that it would be all Capitals as they controlled most of the tempo of the game. Also a very fast period with very few whistles and more exciting to watch despite a few obvious penalties not being called on both teams.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to keep up with this pace of game and continue to push the play in the Islanders zone. Also the Capitals need to continue to play disciplined, and keep their feet moving and draw some penalties against the Islanders.

 

Second Period:

Capitals Penalty – :20 – Alex Ovechkin 2 minutes for Cross Checking

Capitals Penalty – 4:22 – Bench (Vrana) 2 minutes for Too Many Men

Capitals Goal – 7:58 – Nic Dowd (3) from Dmitrij Jaskin (3) and John Carlson (21)

Capitals Penalty – 13:32 – Dmitry Orlov 2 minutes for Tripping

 

End of 2nd – WAS – 2        NYI – 1

Shots               15                 18

Faceoffs          09                 19

Hits                 13                  17

PP                   0/0                  0/3

 

Analysis:

This was not a good period for the Capitals. They were out shot 10-3, they were killed in the faceoff circle, and most importantly, they were not very well disciplined. Even though they scored the lone goal of the period, this was not an ideal period.

 

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to come out with fire lit under them and ready to play a full 20 minutes. The Capitals also need to play a more disciplined game and force the Islanders to take a few penalties so the Capitals can get their powerplay unit on the ice.

 

Third Period:

Capitals Penalty – 4:05 – Tom Wilson 2 minutes for Interference

Islanders Penalty – 12:04 – Tanner Fritz 2 minutes for Hooking

Islanders Penalty – 12:34 – Thomas Hickey 2 minutes for Tripping

Capitals PPG – 14:21 – Tom Wilson (6) from Nicklas Backstrom (21) and John Carlson (22)

Capitals Goal – 19:38 – Alex Ovechkin (18) from Tom Wilson (6) and Nicklas Backstrom (22)

 

End of 3rd – WAS – 4         NYI – 1

Shots              24                   33

Faceoffs        20                    27

Hits               19                     30

PP                 1/2                    0/4

 

Analysis:

Not the greatest third period, but the Capitals were able to find a way to steal this game from the Islanders. Once again they were dominated in the shot department but was able to make their shots count, plus Braden Holtby played a stellar game to give the Capitals the victory. Definitely a great game for Tom Wilson who registered 2 goals and an assist.

 

Next Up:

Washington (14-7-3 31pts) v. New Jersey (9-10-4 22pts)

NY Islanders (12-9-2 26pts) @ Boston (13-6-4 30pts)

 

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