File this one in the tough-loss category for the Islanders.
They had killed off a five-minute power play in the third period against the depleted Capitals, who were without four of their top players and with two centers injured in the final 10 minutes, and seemingly headed to a franchise-record fifth straight overtime game.
Instead, defenseman Justin Schultz wristed a shot past Semyon Varlamov on the rush with 26.4 seconds remaining in regulation to give the Capitals a 3-2 win on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. The teams play again on Thursday night in Washington as the Islanders have started a season-high, five-game road trip with their first back-to-back losses of the season..
The Islanders placed Anthony Beauvillier (lower body) on injured reserve and elevated Kieffer Bellows from the taxi squad, placing the rookie in Beauvillier’s spot on Brock Nelson’s second line with Josh Bailey. Leo Komarov, making his season debut, and Ross Johnston flanked third-line center Jean-Gabriel Pageau.
One reason for Komarov’s inclusion was he can take up some of the penalty-killing minutes Beauvillier normally gets. But Komarov was called for a five-minute boarding major when he hit Lars Eller from behind in the Capitals’ zone at 10:59 of the third period. But the Capitals managed just one shot in the five-minute advantage.
Of course, the Capitals were without power-play whiz Alex Ovechkin along with No. 1 goalie Ilya Samsonov, center Evgeny Kuznetsov and defenseman Dmitry Orlov, all on the NHL’s COVID-protocol list. That quartet will also miss Thursday night’s game.
The Capitals were also without top-six right wing Tom Wilson, out with a lower-body injury. And a shaken Nicklas Backstrom headed off late in the third period, leaving them with just two centers.
It was the teams’ first meeting since the Islanders eliminated the Capitals in a five-game, first-round series played in the Toronto bubble in August. The Islanders won Game 5, 4-0, with Varlamov in net.
"Well, it’s been a long time, we shouldn’t talk about it," Varlamov said on Monday when asked about the Capitals’ series. "It’s January, we’ve started a new season. I don’t want to go back and talk about the playoffs, shutouts and stuff. That’s history. Nobody really cares anymore. You turn the page and we’ve moved on and we focus in on this year."
It’s just that regular-season Varlamov has looked a lot like playoff Varlamov so far.
Varlamov entered Tuesday with a 3-0-0 mark, a 0.33 goals-against average, a .988 save percentage and two shutouts. He played in 20 of the Islanders’ 22 postseason games, going 11-7 with a 2.14 GAA, a .921 save percentage and two shutouts.
Mathew Barzal gave the Islanders a 2-1 lead as he lifted a backhander off defenseman Zdeno Chara’s turnover deep in the Capitals’ zone at the end of a long shift.
But Daniel Sprong tied it at 2 at 17:21 of the second period with a quick shot from the slot that beat Varlamov over his blocker.
The new lineup got off to a slow start with the Islanders being outshot 7-2 just five minutes into the game. The Capitals then took a 1-0 lead at 11:06 of the first period on John Carlson’s power-play goal from the left post. Varlamov was unable to control Schultz’s shot and the puck went right to Carlson, who had a wide-open look.
But Noah Dobson tied it at 1 at 15:33 of the first period with the first goal for an Islanders defenseman this season, shooting it from the right point through a screen set by captain Anders Lee.
