Capitals Fall To Islanders, 4-1; Alex Ovechkin Scores Career Goal 895, Passes Wayne Gretzky To Become NHL All-Time Goals Leader


Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the New York Islanders, 4-1, Sunday afternoon at UBS Arena in New York. Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin scored career goal 895, passing Wayne Gretzky to become the leader on the NHL’s all-time goals list (more here) in the loss. The defeat drops the Capitals’ record to 49-19-9 (107 points) on the season.

LINEUP

Charlie Lindgren (18-12-3, 2.67 GAA, .898 sv%) got the start between the pipes for the visiting Capitals. Ilya Sorokin (28-23-6, 2.76 GAA, .905 sv%) got the start in goal for the Islanders. The starting forward lines and defensive pairs for the Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois — Ryan Leonard
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller — Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Anthony Beauvillier

Rasmus Sandin — John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun — Trevor Van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary — Matt Roy

Charlie Lindgren
Hunter Shepard

Scratches: Alex Alexeyev, Ethen Frank, Dylan McIlrath

Injured: Logan Thompson (upper-body), Sonny Milano (upper-body), Nicklas Backstrom (hip), T.J. Oshie (back).

1ST PERIOD

The Islanders opened the scoring with a tally from Bo Horvat (26) at 7:06 of the opening frame. S. Holmstrom (22) and R. Pulock (18) had the helpers.

The Islanders quickly made it 2-0 just 1:54 later. Marc Gatcomb (7) notched New York’s second tally at 9:00. K. MacLean (6) and A. Romanov (15) had the assists.

The first period concluded with the Islanders holding the 2-0 lead. The Islanders led in five-on-five shot attempts, 18-17, and expected goals for, 0.78 to 0.75.

2ND PERIOD

The Capitals finally got on the scoreboard on a power play blast by Alex Ovechkin (41) at 7:26 of the middle frame. Tom Wilson (30) and Dylan Strome (51) had the assists. The goal was Ovechkin’s 895th career goal, passing Wayne Gretzky on the all-time goals list.

Following a lengthy ceremony to crown the new king, the Islanders got right back to work and quickly restored their two-goal lead with a goal from Marc Gatcomb (8) at 10:26. M. Martin (2) and K. MacLean (7) had the helpers.

The Islanders held the 3-1 lead into the second intermission. The Islanders led in five-on-five shot attempts, 14-13, and led in expected goals for, 0.85 to 0.54.

3RD PERIOD

The Islanders stretched their lead to 4-1 on a goal by Jean-Gabriel Pageau (8) at 10:26. M. Martin (2) and K. MacLean (7) had the helpers.

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.





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