Islanders, Gatcomb Spoil Ovechkin’s Party, Beat Caps 4-1

ELMONT, N.Y. — The New York Islanders (34-32-10) spoiled the party for Alexander Ovechkin’s record-breaking 895th goal on Sunday afternoon, defeating the Washington Capitals (49-19-9) 4-1 in UBS Arena.

Ovechkin was the talk of the NHL World entering Sunday and he delivered. On a second-period powerplay, he scored the record-breaking goal. Storybook stuff for him. Only one problem.

Nobody told the Islanders to play their part. Instead of rolling over, the game started with a suffocating first period from the Islanders. Bo Horvat and Marc Gatcomb scored two early goals just 1:54 apart to stake New York to a 2-0 lead.

After Ovechkin made history, Gatcomb struck again, stealing headlines with his second of the game. The goal came exactly three minutes into play after a prolonged ceremony for Ovechkin.

Then, early in the third period, Jean-Gabriel Pageau stuffed in a rebound that needed help from a review to determine if it had fully crossed the goal line.

Despite allowing the historic goal, Sorokin played an outstanding game. He made 27 saves in the win. Charlie Lindgren kept out 18 shots in the defeat.

First Period:

With all of the added drama and attention squarely on the Islanders, they tuned it all out. If anything, the Capitals looked far more affected by the outside noise.

After Ovechkin nearly scored a goal two minutes in with a gorgeous deflection, the Islanders set out to make the period as boring as possible for casual fans. Chip, chase, forecheck became the name of the game. They flushed the Capitals out of any rush chances, dominating the neutral zone.

Their persistence paid off after an extended trip into the offensive zone. Anders Lee misfired on a one-timer, but Simon Holmstrom scooped the rebound behind the net. Then, he stepped out and put a pass onto Horvat’s tape, who buried it to make it 1-0 Islanders. The assists gave Lee his 50th and Holmstrom his 40th point of the year.

Just 1:54 later, MacLean and Gatcomb teamed up on a two-on-one to double the lead to 2-0. It started with a strong chip out of the defensive zone, then MacLean won a race to the puck, flew hard down the left wing and centered to a wide-open Gatcomb who buried the two-on-one with ease.

From there, the Islanders kept chipping and grinding. They did not allow the Capitals to breathe and even drew a penalty at one point, but the man advantage didn’t come through. All things told, the Islanders were outshot 8-5, according to NatStatTrick, had the edge in High-Danger Chances 4-3.

Second Period:

After a mostly uneventful start to the second period, the action picked up after Casey Cizikas took an offensive-zone tripping penalty. The building moved to the edge of their very expensive seats as Ovechkin’s patented power play ability could be used for goal 895.

Then, that’s exactly what happened. Off a rush, a pass came to Ovechkin on the left side of the attacking zone. He moved in, got right to his spot in the circle, and sent home historical goal 895. 

For more, here’s the in-game scoop on the goal.

After the long stoppage for the ceremony, everyone knew it could be a slow start for both teams.

Not for Matt Martin or the Islanders. Exactly three minutes after Ovechkin’s historic goal, Martin beat both Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy to a loose puck behind the net. He turned and fed Gatcomb in the slot. Gatcomb scored his second of the game for his first multi-goal performance.

Moments after that, Tsyplakov stuffed an attempt just wide. All this to say, the Islanders did not let the pause affect them. The teams then traded power play opportunities, but this time both Washington and New York came up empty. Lindgren and Sorokin had to make some big saves.

Despite all the drama and excitement, the Islanders left the second period with a two-goal lead, the same way they entered the period.

Third Period:

The third period began with a chance for a Gatcomb hat trick, or as some would say, a Gat-trick. Lindgren stayed with it to deny him.

Then on the other end, Sorokin got revenge and robbed Ovechkin on a pair of golden opportunities to keep the Islanders up 3-1. Moments after the Sorokin saves, Pageau stuffed in a rebound of a Maxim Tsyplakov bank shot.

Initially called no goal, the league reviewed it and determined it did fully cross the line, giving the Islanders a key 4-1 edge. Washington coach Spencer Carberry went as far as to take his timeout before deciding not to challenge for goalie interference.

Ovechkin kept pushing and nearly scored goal 896, but Sorokin kept making the saves he needed to. Ultimately, Washington could not solve the Sorokin jigsaw puzzle, becoming wholly unable to solve the tricky Islanders’ defense and stellar netminder.

Alexander Romanov tried to finish a three-on-one, but Lindgren made another big stop. The Islanders slowly bled down the clock and limited any Capitals chances. The Capitals would not find a way back into it.

The Islanders won it 4-1 and spoiled Ovechkin’s party. Next up for New York is a trip to Nashville on Tuesday night.