Fri. March 16 New York Islanders @ Washington Capitals
Place: Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: NBCSWA, SN360, TVAS, MSG+
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM
New York Islanders 70-30-30-10 Last Game: Mar 13 Lost 7-3 against Capitals
Washington Capitals 87-40-23-7 Last Game: Mar 13 Won 7-3 against Islanders
Projected Lineup
8-Ovechkin 92-Kuznetsov 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky 19-Bäckström 77-Oshie
13-Vrana 20-Eller 39-Chiasson
25-Smith-Pelly 72-Boyd 83-Beagle
9-Orlov 2-Niskanen
6-Kempny 74-Carlson
44-Orpik 29-Djoos
70-Holtby (starter)
31-Grubauer
-- SCRATCH --
18-Stephenson
10-Connolly
22-Bowey
28-Jerabek
-- INJURED --
-- 1st Powerplay Unit --
77-Oshie 19-Bäckström 92-Kuznetsov
8-Ovechkin 74-Carlson
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit --
13-Vrana 20-Eller 65-Burakovsky
2-Niskanen 9-Orlov
Referees: Dan O’Rourke (#9) Francois St. Laurent (#38)
Linesmen: Greg Devorski (#54), Ryan Daisy (#81)
1st Period14:33 PP GOAL 77-Oshie, assists 8-Ovechkin & 92-Kuznetsov 1-0 WSH
2nd Period05:30 Isles PP GOAL Barzal 1-1 TIE
07:12 PP GOAL 19-Bäckström, assists 92-Kuznetsov & 74-Carlson 2-1 WSH
17:55 GOAL 2-Niskanen, assists 39-Chiasson & 19-Bäckström 3-1 WSH
3rd Period01:46 PP GOAL 39-Chiasson, assists 13-Vrana & 9-Orlov 4-1 WSH
10:56 GOAL 13-Vrana, assist 39-Chiasson 5-1 WSH
13:52 Isles PP GOAL Nelson 5-2 WSH
16:14 Isles PP GOAL Tavares 5-3 WSH
18:02 GOAL 20-Eller, assists 83-Beagle 6-3 WSH
FINAL: 6-3 WSH
By Isabelle Khurshudyan March 16 at 7:49 AM
Capitals’ T.J. Oshie finally capitalizes on his chances, ending goal drought of 19 games
Capitals right wing T.J. Oshie scores against the New York Islanders during the first period at Barclays Center. (Andy Marlin/USA Today)
NEW YORK — T.J. Oshie had actually bobbled Andre Burakovsky’s pass during their two-on-one rush in the first period, but in some good fortune for a change, that extra second of hesitation caused Islanders goaltender Christopher Gibson to overcommit, pivoting so forcefully to the other post that he slipped just as Oshie got the shot off. The puck connected with the netting, and Oshie was spared another moment of baffling frustration.
“If that one didn’t go in, I don’t know,” Oshie said. “I don’t know what would’ve happened.”
The goal ended a drought of 19 games, and it was his first even-strength tally since Dec. 21, a span of 33 games. After he scored a career-high 33 goals last season, earning an eight-year, $46 million deal with the Capitals, this season has gone poorly for Oshie. He suffered the fourth concussion of his career in early December and just hasn’t looked quite right since then. But lately, Oshie had been getting the chances without getting rewarded — the most snakebit member of the team until Thursday night. In Washington’s 7-3 win against New York, Oshie scored two goals, adding an empty-netter at the end.
[T.J. Oshie snaps goal drought as Capitals pick apart defense-addled Islanders, 7-3]
“I’m hoping that he hits a stride at the right time,” Coach Barry Trotz said. “He’s such a key player for us that if he can hit stride at the right time, that might just give us a real good bump up here.”
Trotz made a slight lineup adjustment before the game. While center Evgeny Kuznetsov’s line with Alex Ovechkin and Tom Wilson had been playing well, Trotz wanted more production from his middle-six forward corps. He moved Oshie and Burakovsky onto a line with center Nicklas Backstrom, a trio that had success playing together in the second round of the playoffs last season. For one game at least, the chemistry returned: Oshie and Burakovsky scored five-on-five goals, and Backstrom added a power-play tally.
But this sort of performance from Oshie seemed to be building even before the change. He had five shots on goal against the Winnipeg Jets, finding new and painful ways not to score in that game. There were opportunities he’d lamented in the two games before that, too. Entering Thursday night’s game, Oshie had four five-on-five goals, fewest among Capitals forwards.
“T.J.’s had a year where I think he probably would say, ‘Hey, I’ve got to do more on the five-on-five and have a little more production there,'” Trotz said. “I thought he was skating today. He was competing. He looked like the T.J. I know, and I was really happy for him.”
Said Oshie: “I’ve been working pretty hard lately this last month and definitely these last couple of weeks here, trying to get my game where it needs to go. I’ve been moving my feet a lot lately. It’s just nice to get rewarded tonight for some of that hard work, where in other games, the puck really wasn’t coming to my stick in those scoring areas. It felt nice.”
[Fancy Stats: Alex Ovechkin could catch Wayne Gretzky as NHL’s all-time leading scorer]
Consistent production from Oshie going into the playoffs would be a bonus for the Capitals, who have leaned on Ovechkin for roughly 20 percent of their goal output all season as they’ve stayed atop the Metropolitan Division. A down season would be quickly forgiven with a strong postseason.
“He’s obviously a goal scorer — that’s what I think he is,” Backstrom said.
“I feel like I’m starting to get into those scoring areas more without having to really think about it,” Oshie said. “It’s coming a little bit more naturally, which for a while there, I really had to focus on it and think about what I was doing out there. The game is coming to me more naturally, which is a lot more fun playing that way.”
