Capitals Top Islanders; Ovechkin Moves Into Sixth Place All Time in Goals Scored

Two of the hottest teams in the NHL met at Capital One Arena in Washington March 16th when the New York Islanders came to DC to take on the Capitals. The Islanders came into the game riding a nine game winning streak, while the Capitals had won nine of 10. New York had a two point lead in the East over Washington.

After as scoreless first period, T.J. Oshie scored to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 10:36 of the period. Later in the period, Alex Ovechkin scored his 12th goal of the season on a power play for a 2-0 Capitals lead. It was NHL career goal number 718 for Ovechkin, and moved him into sixth place on the all time list, ahead of Phil Esposito. Nicklas Backstrom added a power play goal 28 seconds into the third period to make it 3-0, and Oliver Wahlstrom scored an unassisted goal to get the Islanders on the board and make it 3-1, but that’s as close as it got.

Washington (19-6-4) moved ahead of New York (19-7-4) in the East standings. Both have 42 points, but the Islanders have one more loss. Washington has won all three contests with the Islanders this season, and the these two will meet five more times in April, including three games in a row April 22nd to April 27th. Those could be huge in determining the division winner, so the Islanders are going to have to figure out how to beat the Capitals.