Recap: Capitals 7, Islanders 3

The New York Islanders dropped the first half of a back-to-back set with the Washington Capitals, falling 7-3 at Barclays Center on Thursday night.
Brock Nelson and Andrew Ladd had the Islanders in a 2-2 game in the first period, but Washington scored four unanswered goals to break the game open, despite the Isles outshooting them 38-22. T.J. Oshie scored a pair of goals, while Nicklas Backstrom (1G, 2A), Dmitry Orlov (1G, 2A) and Evgeny Kuznetsov (3A) each had three-point nights for the Capitals.

"Just a couple lapses," said Tanner Fritz, who had two assists. "They got a couple good bounces. I thought we had a good first period, we created a lot of opportunities. Can't just blame it all on puck luck for them, but I felt like we had a pretty strong game, just a couple breakdowns and to a good team like that, they're going to capitalize, and before you know it's 4-2, 5-2."
Nelson got the Islanders off to a quick start on Thursday, with Fritz finding him with a pass from below the goal line for the icebreaker at 2:19 of the first. Nelson's 16th of the season was the first of five goals in the opening frame, including three in a 1:57 span.

Washington struck twice with two goals in 57 seconds to take a 2-1 lead. Lars Eller beat a screened Christopher Gibson at 10:32 to put the Capitals on the board and Oshie finished a two-on-one with Andre Burakovsky to make it 2-1 Washington at 11:29.
Andrew Ladd beat Philipp Grubauer a minute after Burakovsky's goal to tie the score 2-2, but the deadlock didn't make it to the intermission, as Orlov's sharp-angled shot beat Gibson with 2:43 to play in the first.

Washington pulled away in the second, extending the deficit to 5-2 and chasing Gibson. Jakub Jerabek's point shot deflected off Johnny Boychuk and Burakovsky before finding twine at 3:12, while Nicklas Backstrom batted a puck out of the air, off a body and in for a power-play goal at 10:22. Backstrom's goal ended Chris Gibson's night, as the rookie goalie allowed five goals on 12 shots. Jaroslav Halak stopped eight-of-nine shots in relief."
"The first and third goal were just okay, but he had two really bad bounces," Head Coach Doug Weight said of Gibson. "It goes in off Hicks, the guy's thigh and jumps past him and then Johnny B off his foot... It was five goals and we needed a spark and I thought I'd get him out."
The Islanders had their chances to get back into the game. Casey Cizikas couldn't covert on a second period breakaway that would have doubled as some poetic justice for an early high hit from Tom Wilson that briefly knocked him out of the game. The Isles also had a late power play in the second period, but couldn't convert.
John Carlson and Ryan Pulock traded goals late in the third period and Oshie's empty-netter officially iced it.
"I think we controlled most of the play," Pulock said. "We spent a lot of time in their zone, but it seemed like every time they got in ours they just found a way to get one. A couple of them are deflections off a couple bodies. It's definitely frustrating."

STANDINGS IMPLICATIONS:

With the loss, the Islanders (70 points) are 10 points back of the New Jersey Devils (80 points) for the final playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The Florida Panthers (77 points), Carolina Hurricanes (71 points) and New York Rangers (71 points) stand between the Isles and the second wild card.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders and Capitals renew hostilities on Friday night in Washington. Puck drop is at 7 p.m.

POSTGAME VIDEO: