Nick Backstrom and Dwayne Roloson from Nov. 2009. Photo by Pete Silver
I'll be at Verizon Center tonight tweeting live during tonight's game between the Caps and Islanders. Click here for a link to my Twitter feed. I ought to be up and running between 6:45 and 7:00 p.m. U.S. EDT. Hope you join me then.
POSTSCRIPT: The story tonight was a lot like it was against Ottawa on Monday: Caps allow an inferior team to hang around until Alex Ovechkin saved the day. Some other thoughts:
- Nicklas Backstrom might have scored the game winning goal and been named the first star of the game, but it was Michal Neuvirth who won the coveted hard hat from his teammates. The rookie had 23 saves on 24 shots, and came up big more than a few times, perhaps no bigger than when he stopped Matt Moulson on a breakaway in the third period. "I was just trying to stay patient. That was a big save for us," said the beaming rookie after the game.
- Head coach Bruce Boudreau resisted the bait when asked about a budding goalie controversy, making it clear that Semyon Varlamov would play once he was ready, but that Neuvirth was clearly making the case in these first four games to keep the job himself.
- Speaking of Backstrom, he finally broke through and got his first points of the season, assisting on Ovechkin's game-tying goal and getting a tip in for the game winner. Separated from Ovechkin by Boudreau in the first period, the pair were reunited in the second when the team woke from its slumber to put 15 shots on net—with the big strike being Ovechkin's shot that beat Dwayne Roloson to the glove side to tie things up.
- Boudreau took a timeout after a Blake Comeau penalty to stress to his team that they needed to simplify things on the power play. Boudreau said that when his power play isn't working he likes to fall back on his father's advice: shoot the puck wide and look for tips. He got what he was looking for with an Ovechkin cannon shot from just inside the blue line that deflected off Backstrom's leg for the game winner. The score was just the second power play goal of the season on 17 chances.
- As much as the power play has struggled, the penalty kill, one of the areas of concern in the offseason, continues to be perfect. Opponents have had 15 power play opportunities against Washington this season and have yet to score.
- DJ King got on the score sheet with his first fighting major of the season, a tussle with Trevor Gillies just 2:47 into the first period. The locals were clearly pleased.
- While the Islanders don't ice the same level of talent Washington does, head coach Scott Gordon clearly gets everything he can out of his young lineup. They outhit the Caps and won 59% of their faceoffs. Considering that the Islanders were without power play quarterback Mark Streit, former #1 pick Jonathan Taveres, suspended defenseman James Wisniewski and winger Kyle Okposo, they acquitted themselves well. While they're missing plenty of talent, it's clear the Islanders have a very simple system and they execute it well. Against about 28 other teams in the league, that's going to be enough, but not tonight.
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