The New York Islanders win streak came to an end when they lost 3-1 to the Washington Capitals. New York had a lot of scoring opportunities but couldn’t capitalize on it.

Washington’s goals came from T.J. Oshie, Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom. The Islanders were able to get on the scoreboard courtesy of a goal by Oliver Wahlstrom on the power-play.

Islanders Game Analysis

First Period

The first period was a good back and forth for both teams. Neither team was able to get on the board this period. The Islanders had many scoring opportunities but couldn’t get the puck past Ilya Samsonov who picked up 11 saves. Semyon Varlamov also played very well picking up eight saves this period.

The Islanders led in shots on goal, 11-8. Both teams played well defensively this period, keeping the score at zero. The Islanders were able to pick up a power-play opportunity in the first. They just couldn’t capitalize on the opportunity.

Second Period

The second period started out with more of the same as the first. In the first half of the period, the Islanders had a very nice penalty-kill to stop the Capitals from scoring on the power-play. They played great defensively and showed a lot of heart and hustle. The second half of the period was a different story.

Oshie scored for the Capitals with approximately nine minutes left giving Washington the 1-0 lead. Ovechkin scored as well on a power-play goal giving the Capitals the 2-0 advantage. He is now solely in sixth place on the all-time scorer’s list.

Islanders got outshot this period 7-4. Varlamov picked up four saves this period and allowed two goals. Samsonov picked up four saves this period stopping all of the Islanders’ scoring opportunities.

Third Period

The third period was all about the power-play. Prior to the second period ending, Scott Mayfield and Richard Panik got into a fight which resulted in a power-play to start off the third period for the home team. The power-play resulted in Backstrom scoring a goal in less than a minute to give Washington the 3-0 lead.

Approximately four minutes later, New York was able to pick up a power-play. Wahlstrom came up big for them and scored a goal to prevent the Islanders from getting shutout.

Islanders Takeaways

New York lost a rough game. The power-play unit is missing Anders Lee and Noah Dobson. However, the Islanders didn’t play a bad game and overall they will bounce back. Sebastian Aho, Kieffer Bellows and Wahlstrom have all been showing that they belong and making the most of their minutes.

What’s Next For The Islanders?

New York will play next on Thursday, March 18 at 7 p.m. EST against the Philadelphia Flyers at the Nassau Coliseum in front of the general public for the first time in over a year.

John Smark