Overtime's the Killer

Capitals 5: Islanders 4 (OT)

The great thing about this game was that not only did the Isles look like their old selves in the third period, but they scored over three goals for the first time in about five games.

But the chance for them to stage a complete comeback faded at the hands of the young man you never want to give the puck to: Alexander Ovechkin.

Although Freddy Meyer did all he could to keep the Russian sniper under close watch, Ovechkin was able to tally two goals, including the overtime winner, as the Capitals finally got their two points after a two-goal rally by New York.

The Caps mounted a two-goal lead and maintained it through much of the game, even as the Isles tried to cut it down, before the third period. Boyd Gordon (as far as I know, no relation to head coach Scott Gordon) scored a dirty goal early in the first, and then Brooks Laich tallied a brief momentum-killer after a great penalty kill by the Isles, as Joey MacDonald went to poke the puck away and had it slip through his legs, into the back of the net. Doug Weight got one back on the power play at 16:14 of the first, climbing to 997 points (only three more!) with his seventh goal of the season, thanks to a huge contribution by Richard Park, who scored a goal of his own along with two assists. The first period was feisty and physical, with tons of scrappy play coming from both sides, including a spirited fight between Matt Bradley and Tim Jackman.

In the second, Milan Jurcina scored a tip-in that put the Caps up 3-1, until Park struck on the PP (which scored twice on five attempts- not too shabby!). Then, Ovechkin, who'd been pretty quiet until now, attacked, scoring on a wrist shot in front on a beautiful play by his linemates, Alex Semin and Nicklas Backstrom, who can create plays as well as capitalize on them. Score: 4-2. But the game wasn't over yet.

The third period was all Islanders, as Jon Sim (who's back in the lineup with the absence of Mike Sillinger) and Andy Sutton led their team on a comeback, making the statement that no longer were they to just lie down and let the opponents take the game- at least not on home ice. Sutton scored at 11:19 on a slap shot from the point, with Streit and Guerin on the assists (Guerin had two assists, and Streit had three this game), and then Sim gave fans something to really cheer about when he crashed the net for his sixth of the year (and got a little bit of his own redemption after being waived earlier this month), with 2:13 left in the game.

Overtime went smoothly- or not- for the first four minutes, until somehow, Ovechkin got loose and streaked down the wing. He powered a wrist shot past MacDonald for his 19th goal, and the win for the Capitals. The Isles could only console themselves with the one point, and take pride in that they finally got close to a win. Close, still, only gets you one point.

Next time, they figure, will be a win.