Hockey Night In Washington: Caps vs. Islanders

Greetings from Verizon Center, where in a little over an hour the Caps will host the Islanders here in Washington, D.C. I'm high above center ice in the arena press box, while my friend and colleague Allen Clark will be on the glass tonight with the camera.

Tonight's matchup features two teams going in seemingly opposite directions. The visiting Islanders, still energized of a trade deadline deal that netted Ryan Smyth from the Edmonton Oilers, are looking toward securing a place in the playoffs. Meanwhile, the hometown Capitals who shipped four players out of town at the deadline, are looking to finish the season with some pride. In fact, I think it's pretty clear a number of folks on the team are essentially playing for a chance to come back next season.

Of note to Islanders fans: Rick DiPietro warms up before the game by playing catch with one of his teammates. And speaking of Islanders fans, there are a lot of them here tonight and they're sounding loud.

When the Caps played the Florida Panthers earlier this week just hours after the deadline, you could sense that something of a weight had been lifted from the shoulders of the team, and that's certainly shown on the scoreboard as they've scored nine goals in the last two games. Unfortunately, they've also given up nine, and then lost out on the chance for the extra point each time when they lost in the shootout to both Florida and Tampa Bay.

Depth has been a problem for the team all season, and that's going to be a problem down the stretch as well now that the team has lost both Matt Pettinger and Boyd Gordon to injury. Pettinger may actually be gone for the season with a broken thumb while Gordon looks to miss two weeks with a sore knee.

Naturally, as you might assume, some folks are already looking forward to next season, like J.P. has with his offseason shopping list of free agent centers.

More discussion in a moment.

UPDATE: We had some connectivity problems in the run-up to faceoff, so that's all until the final horn. See you then with a recap after the jump.

END OF FIRST PERIOD: NEW YORK 2 CAPS 0: It a tightly played period, but the Islanders seem to be winning the battles in the corners and in front of the net. And thanks to three power plays, the Isles tally two extra-man goals for a 2-0 lead.

* With Beech in the box for tripping at just 2:30, the Caps get an efficient little penalty kill.

* Just seconds after Beech comes back on the ice, Alexandre Giroux, just called back up from Hershey, hops on a loose puck and gets himself a breakaway on Rick DiPietro, but he makes the save.

* Mike Sillinger takes down Alexander Ovechkin deep in the Islanders zone. There is no call.

* Alexander Semin is second on the team in takeaways, and his next victim is ex-Caps defenseman Brendan Witt. When Witt is unable to get a handle on the puck at the left wing point along the boards, Semin jumps on it and sends the play in the other direction with Witt desperately trying to keep up along the length of the ice. Bearing down on DiPietro, Semin tries to get a pass off, but it's deflected, and he winds up running into the Islanders goalie.

* With Milan Jurcina in the box for hooking, the Islanders strike first. Marc-Andre Bereron starts the scoring play down low along the right wing halfboards when he finds Tom Poti alone at the right wing point. He quickly pivots and finds Sillinger alone at the left wing point where he sends a one-timer through a Ryan Smyth screen, 1-0 New York.

* Right after the goal, we've got another delay due to glass coming loose along the boards, this time behind the Caps net.

* Something is stirring down there, as Donald Brashear starts jawing first with Chris Simon and then with Brendan Witt. Brash is jawing with the refs too. We might be in for a heavyweight brawl before the night is over.

* At 18:28 with Eminger in the box for holding, the Isles strike again. This time, the sequence starts when Jiri Novotny can't clear the puck out of the defensive zone and Sean Hill sends the puck down low along the right wing boards to Miroslav Satan. He sends it back to Hill who fires a wrister into a screen in front of Johnson. When the puck squirts loose, Satan snags it and tucks it into the net for a 2-0 lead.

* SOG: NYI 12-5. FACEOFFS: WSH 14-11.

END OF SECOND PERIOD: NEW YORK 4 CAPS 0: The New York power play strikes again, Chris Simon scores from an impossible angle, and the Islanders extend their lead.

* In the second minute, another piece of glass comes loose. I think that we've established a pattern here that needs to be investigated more closely.

* Just watching the Islanders power play, you can see how much the addition of Ryan Smyth helps this team. He's more than willing to sacrifice his body down low, and can dish out a hit as well as his teammate Trent Hunter.

* On a penalty kill, Matt Bradley puts Jason Blake to the ice with a crushing check, eliciting a big cheer.

* Big props to Alexander Semin for a play deep in the Islanders zone that would have resulted in a goal if the world were a fairer place. Skating in deep on the right wing, Semin puts the puck on Brooks Laich's stick as the centerman is crashing the net. DiPietro makes the save, but what's notable is that Semin completed the pass even though Sean Hill delivered a crushing check.

* Brashear challenges Brendan Witt again, but Witt won't take the bait. The result: Brash gets a double minor, two for roughing and two for unsportmanlike conduct.

* On the ensuing power play, Bergeron send a one-timer screaming past Johnson from the right wing point to make it 3-0.

* Novotny shows some slick stickhandling skills in traffic, and manages to get a shot off on DiPietro. No goal, but a nice play nonetheless. I think this guy can play.

* And here comes the back breaker. Simon takes a wild slap shot from behind the goal line that bounces off of Johnson's back to make it 4-0. You can't get upset at Johnson, as the shot came from just about the most impossible angle you could imagine.

* The Isles nearly make it 5-0 when Smyth strips Muir on a Caps power play and dishes to Richard Park. Johnson makes the save, but the message is sent -- the Caps power play needs help, but it isn't coming.

* On the other side of the ledger, on this night at least, Chris Campoli does not look like he belongs in the NHL. He's been beaten wide, and badly, by both Semin and Ovechkin. He simply looks overmatched out there.

* SOG: NYI 22-13. FACEOFFS: WASH 26-17.

FINAL: NEW YORK 6 CAPS 2: After New York extends the lead to 5-0, Washington makes a late charge, but it's not nearly enough.

Allen Clark/Off Wing
Brashear and Blake go face to face in the third period.

* At the five minute mark, Satan scores again, chasing Johnson. To add insult to injury, Richard Zednik gets a helper. Johnson's line, 23 shots, 18 saves, 5 GA. In comes Frederic Cassivi.

* The chant, "Lets Go Islanders" not heard in these parts since the late 1980s, rises from the crowd.

* Signs of life. Brian Pothier jumps on a loose puck at the top of the slot and puts a wrister through DiPietro's five-hole. It's 5-1, courtesy of Pothier's first goal in 15 games and only his second of the season.

* Less than a minute later Brian Sutherby makes a great play. After tipping a deflection on target that DiPietro stops, he collects the rebound and tucks it past the Islanders goalie. It's 5-2. The crowd is getting back into the game.

* Pothier unloads a nice slapper and DiPietro responds with a neat pad save.

* Washington calls timeout with 4:38 remaining.

Allen Clark/Off Wing
DiPietro stopped this puck, but he had his troubles in the third period.

* At 17:06, Smyth gets a goal that's all effort on his part on both ends of the ice. Once again, the chant, "Lets go Islanders" starts rising to the rafters at Verizon.

* Now, we begin hearing chants of "DP" for DiPietro.

* SOG: WASH 29-26. FACEOFFS: WASH 36-27. Tells you something about how the Caps came on in the final period.

* And that's all folks. More later from the locker room.

FROM THE LOCKER ROOM: Again, another subdued scene. Steve Eminger and Brian Sutherby were both basically on the same page: Thought they played well 5-on-5 but couldn't keep up thanks to all the goals the Isles piled up on the power play. Losing Kris Beech to injury in the first period didn't help either, as Head Coach Glen Hanlon was forced to use winger Tomas Fleischmann to center Ovechkin and Semin.

There's really not a whole lot more to say right now about this team: They were depleted thanks to the trade deadline, then they lose two critical forwards after the previous game. They're undermanned, and tonight they had to play against a team that just supplemented their lineup with one of the best players in the league in Smyth, and a player who seems to be able to handle himself on the power play in Bergeron.

In short, the effort is there. But the team is just overmatched right now, and will be until the start of next season.

Hanlon gave everyone a chuckle when he mentioned that losing just got a little harder now that his youngest son is old enough to ask whether or not the Caps won once he gets home.

Other notes: Redskins quarterback Jason Campbell was here to get an introduction to Ovechkin. Also saw Olie Kolzig give a warm welcome to Brendan Witt.

Eric 05:51 PM

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