5 Takeaways: Islanders Lose in Last Minute to Capitals

The New York Islanders lost their second-straight game on Tuesday, falling to the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Capital One Arena.
Justin Schultz broke a 2-2 tie with 26.4 seconds to play in the third period, meaning the Islanders were unable to secure even a point for their effort. Noah Dobson and Mathew Barzal scored for the Islanders, while John Carlson and Daniel Sprong rounded out the scoresheet for the Capitals.
The two teams meet again on Thursday to wrap-up a two-game set. Here are five takeaways from a heartbreaker.

Video: Condensed Game: Islanders @ Capitals

LATE GOAL SINKS ISLANDERS:

A regulation loss seemed unfitting - and was certainly an unsatisfying - result for Islanders, who seemed destined to at least get a point out of the spirited affair with the Capitals.
Tied 2-2 in the third, the Islanders had just killed off a five-minute major and seemingly had the momentum heading into the home stretch. Instead, the Islanders left empty-handed, as Schultz jumped into the play on a three-on-three rush up the ice, taking a Garnet Hathaway feed and beating Semyon Varlamov (33 saves) low blocker.
"It's never fun losing and obviously a minute or two minutes there, as much as we're trying to win the game, we're trying to get to overtime," Barzal said. "Every point is big, so just the way it happened, it's pretty heartbreaking."
ISLANDERS AT CAPITALS
ISLANDERS-CAPITALS ARTICLES
Gamecenter
ISLANDERS-CAPITALS VIDEO
Full Highlights
Dobson's First of the Season
Barzal Goes Top Shelf
Postgame: Trotz
Postgame: Dobson & Greene
Postgame: Barzal & Eberle
KINGER'S CALLS
Barzal Goes Top Shelf
Dobson's Long-Range Shot
In a condensed season, the Islanders know how important every point is - and rued the fact that they let at least one slip away. The Islanders said after the game recognizing the situation of getting to OT probably outweighed trying to win it in regulation.
"We had that huge five-minute kill there. At that point, there's three minutes left, we have to somehow figure out a way to get to the end of game," Andy Greene said. "Try to get the extra point in OT at that point."
Head Coach Barry Trotz called it a missed opportunity for the Islanders, as the Capitals entered the game without Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Dmitry Orlov, Ilya Samsonov (COVID protocols) and Tom Wilson (upper body). By game's end, the Capitals were also down Lars Eller.
"I warned our group about the play from the Caps," Trotz said. "They were galvanizing in terms of rallying around the guys that were out. With the new people that they have, in terms of staff and some players, they're playing a systematic, hard work detailed game. They're going the distance on everything. They're playing hard and fast. I give them credit, but at the same time it's a missed opportunity for us."

ISLES GET GUTSY KILL FROM PK:

For 51 minutes, it didn't appear that Tuesday was going to be a busy, or efficient, night for the Islanders penalty kill. Over the next five minutes, the shorthanded unit earned its paycheck, killing off a five-minute major with 9:01 to play in a 2-2 tie.
With Leo Komarov in the box for boarding Eller, the Islanders penalty kill - which was 0-for-1 on the evening at that point - stepped up. JG Pageau won a defensive-zone draw against Nicklas Backstrom and the Islanders held the Capitals to one shot on goal during the five-minute stretch. Pageau had perhaps the best chance of the five minutes, missing wide on a two-on-one with Nelson.
The gutsy PK appeared to be the momentum springboard for the Islanders, but ultimately was not the case.
"We did a great job of killing it off. Usually, when you kill it off your bench gets some momentum," Trotz said. "We felt like we were going to get a point and not lose a point and hopefully get it in the last shift or two or in overtime. It energized our bench. Then, we backed off and they scored a goal late. That's a missed opportunity. We need more from our group."
The PK officially finished the night 1-for-2, while the power play went 0-for-3.

DOBSON SCORES FIRST OF THE SEASON:

Noah Dobson scored his first goal of the season on Tuesday, putting a wrister into traffic from the point, with the puck caroming off Brenden Dillon and past Vitek Vanecek (32 saves) at 15:33.
Dobson's goal was the continuation of a strong start for the sophomore blueliner, who had his first two-point game on Jan. 21 vs New Jersey, as well as six shot attempts vs the Devils. The 2018 first-rounder also drew the Islanders third power play of the game on Tuesday, sending Eller to the box for tripping.
Dobson played 17:21 in the win, including 4:10 on the power play, and said the goal was just another bit of added confidence.
"It was definitely nice to get one to go in," Dobson said. "Just try to throw a puck on net, got a good bounce. But, I think just trying to get better each game, learn and keep going on that track."

BELLOWS IN FOR BEAUVILLIER, KOMAROV MAKES SEASON DEBUT:

Anthony Beauvillier was placed on IR ahead of Tuesday's game with a lower-body injury, with Kieffer Bellows skating in his place on the Islanders second line alongside Brock Nelson and Josh Bailey. Bellows also was a one-for-one substitution to the power play.
Beauvillier's IR designation means he'll be out of the lineup for at least a week, and will miss the remaining three games on the Islanders road trip. Beauvillier has one assist in five games this season. Bellows skated 11:04, with two shots, two hits and one blocked shot.
Bellows-for-Beauvillier wasn't the only change Trotz made on Tuesday, as the Islanders coach inserted Leo Komarov for Michael Dal Colle.
Komarov was making his season debut, skating on a line with Ross Johnston and Pageau, giving the Islanders a veteran look and some size on the third line, as well as some experience on the PK to replace Beauvillier. Komarov skated 11:17 in his season debut, with one hit - the boarding major on Eller - and a blocked shot.

ROSTER CHANGES LIKELY COMING:

Trotz didn't mince words after Tuesday's game, saying he was looking towards shaking up the roster for Thursday's rematch. The Islanders' coach didn't specify who or how he was going to shake up his lines, but promised changes after the loss.
"We need more. We had one line tonight, that's all I felt like I had," Trotz said. "That's been a couple games in a row here. We're going to shake it up. We're going to put some new people in and go from there."

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Capitals wrap up a two-game set on Thursday night in Washington DC. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. The game will be featured on MSG+2.