3 Takeaways: Isles Beats Caps 2-1 for First Shootout Win of Season

The New York Islanders picked up a pair of important points on Wednesday night, beating the Washington Capitals 2-1 in a shootout at Capital One Arena
Bo Horvat and Kyle Palmieri (game-deciding goal) scored in the shootout, as the Islanders picked up their first win in six tries beyond 65 minutes this season. To put it in perspective, the Islanders two shootout goals on Wednesday were twice as many as they'd scored in the shootout all season.
"We needed it," Head Coach Lane Lambert said of the shootout win. "I thought the guys did a really good job, Bo, Kyle and obviously Ilya. It's an important point for us."

Pierre Engvall and Conor Sheary accounted for the two regulation goals in the contest.
The win was the Islanders first in three tries against the Capitals this season and a rare win at Capital One Arena, as the Isles won for just the second time in their last seven trips to The District.
With the win, the Islanders stay in the first wild card and improve to 87 points in the standings, five points clear of the Pittsburgh Penguins (82 points), though the Pens have two games in hand. The win also meant that the Isles kept their six-point buffer from the Florida Panthers (81 points) who picked up a 3-2 OT win over the Toronto Maple Leafs.
"Every game is important and I think playing meaningful games all the way up until it's time for the playoffs is going to benefit us," Horvat said. "We've got to treat every game like it's a playoff game in order to get there."

PATIENCE PAYS OFF FOR ISLANDERS:

Patience paid off for the Islanders, who trudged their way through a grueling and grinding game that didn't yield much for either side through the first 40 minutes.
By the second intermission, the Islanders were limited to 10 shots on goal, with the Capitals blocking 20 shots over that span. The Islanders had a season-high 26 shots blocked on Wednesday night.
Instead of getting frustrated, the Islanders continued to grind down the Caps and started making quicker decisions with the puck. It almost resembled a rope-a-dope, with the Islanders outshooting the Capitals 15-5 in the third period, not including a Kyle Palmieri shot off the post.
ISLANDERS 2, CAPITALS 1 SO
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KINGER'S CALLS
Engvall Opens the Scoring
"We're sticking to it and staying patient," Head Coach Lane Lambert said. "Our game is about being patient and it's about being patient on both sides of the puck."
Overtime was a polar opposite of the 60 minutes that preceded it, with both teams playing back and forth hockey and creating dangerous chances at either end. That's where Ilya Sorokin (25 saves) earned his money, coming up with a pair of key stops on TJ Oshie and another on Alex Ovechkin.
The Russian netminder said he was expecting Evgeny Kuznetsov to slow play his shootout attempt and while he was unable to stop it, he came up with back-to-back stops on Oshie and Nicklas Backstrom.
"I just don't think we change our game at all through the course of 60 minutes," Horvat said. "That kind of frustrates teams whereas we kind of play the same way all the time and not get away from our game. That's how we get our opportunities and I feel like as soon as teams start to break down our opportunities come and that ended up happening again tonight."

ENGVALL VS KUEMPER:

Neither team was able to generate much in the first period, with Washington outshooting the Islanders 7-3 in the opening frame. Shot attempts were 15-15, but Washington clogged shooting lanes, blocking 10 of the Islanders attempts.
The Islanders opened the scoring in the second period, as Pierre Engvall snuck a harmless-looking shot through Darcy Kuemper at 3:52.
The goal was Engvall's fourth goal on as many shots in his career against Kuemper, though his perfect shooting percentage took a hit when Kuemper stopped Engvall's second try from the same spot. It was fun while it lasted.
Engvall is now up to five goals in 12 games since being acquired by the Islanders and is up to 17 goals - a career-high - on the season.
"He's added an element of speed," Lambert said. "He's been really good on that line with [Brock] Nelson and Palmieri and he's scored some big goals for us. He has a great shot and with that speed, and he uses that shot and it's certainly added an element of offense to our team."

PELECH OKAY AFTER OVECHKIN HIT:

There was a bit of a hold-your-breath moment for the Islanders in the third period, as Adam Pelech was hit hard into the boards by Alex Ovechkin.
Pelech appeared to be in plenty of pain on the ice, but played a shift in overtime and insisted he was okay after the game.
That was a sigh of relief for the Islanders, as they went 7-9-5 when Pelech was sidelined from Dec. 9 to Jan. 21. Pelech played a team-high 26 minutes, with two shots, six total shot attempts, two blocked shots, two takeaways and one giveaways.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders three-game road trip continues on Saturday when they visit the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.