Capitals start slow, but a five-goal second period paves way past Islanders

By Samantha Pell,

As Washington defenseman Zdeno Chara’s shot from the point blew past New York Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov on Thursday night, the 43-year-old lifted his arms in celebration and immediately turned to the Capitals’ bench.

A group hug formed around Chara, packed with giddy smiles and childlike glee. Chara’s goal was not only his first in a Capitals sweater, it also was the fifth Washington goal of a dominant second period that powered the Capitals to a 6-3 win at Capital One Arena.

“I returned to the bench to the guys right away because I just wanted to share that joy and excitement with them,” Chara said. “They really did an amazing job of welcoming me and making that transition as easy, as simple as possible for me. So I owe it to them and can’t thank them enough.”

The Capitals fell into a 3-0 deficit after 20 minutes before finding their form in the middle period to extend their strong start to open the season to 5-0-3. With 13 points through eight games, the Capitals have the longest season-opening points streak in franchise history.

Next up is a date Saturday against Chara’s former team, the Boston Bruins (5-1-1), who trail the Capitals by just two points in the East Division.

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“It’s all about the team,” Chara said about facing his former squad. “I’m not here to improve my stats. I just want to help the team. Obviously we know we’re facing a really, really good team. We’re going to prepare ourselves, and we know we’ve got to be playing our best to have a chance.”

Rookie goaltender Vitek Vanecek got his fifth straight start Thursday and made 27 saves, including 11 in the final period. Tom Wilson, who had missed the previous two games because of a lower-body injury, scored an empty-netter with 18.7 seconds left to cap the scoring.

The win against former coach Barry Trotz did not come without more injuries. Defenseman Justin Schultz, who had two assists Thursday and scored the game-winner Tuesday against the Islanders, took a puck directly to the face only 48 seconds into the third period. He headed straight down the tunnel for treatment and did not return.

Capitals Coach Peter Laviolette did not give any indication whether Schultz would miss any time, saying after the game that “from a safety standpoint” Schultz was “okay, but there was some damage done obviously with the puck.”

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Center Lars Eller was also unavailable Thursday after suffering an upper-body injury in Tuesday’s game. T.J. Oshie played second-line center in his place. Eller was crunched along the boards by Leo Komarov, who was assessed a major for boarding, and is listed as day-to-day. Eller has missed just four regular season games since he joined the Capitals in 2016.

The Capitals were also still playing without captain Alex Ovechkin, center Evgeny Kuznetsov, defenseman Dmitry Orlov and top goalie Ilya Samsonov, who were put on the NHL’s covid-19 protocol list last week following Samsonov’s positive coronavirus test.

All four players have missed four games because of covid protocols and as of Thursday had not been cleared to play. Their status for Saturday’s game remains uncertain. The Capitals are 3-0-1 without the four Russians in the lineup.

“Obviously a good win, great win,” defenseman John Carlson said. “We talked a lot about last game and certainly same holds true for this game, and just the way it happened was a good way to battle out of a hole that’s not easy with how we were set up in the game. To really take over and dominate the rest of the way was a special way to win and I think a confidence booster.”

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In the absence of the four Russians, the Capitals got a star turn from Conor Sheary, a bottom-six offseason acquisition who scored twice within 73 seconds in the middle of the period to trim Washington’s deficit to 3-2. His first strike came on a putback at 9:07. Barely a minute later, he tipped in Chara’s shot from the point.

“We have guys stepping in there, myself included. You get to move up and down the lineup and get bigger roles,” Sheary said of his two-goal night. “Obviously a couple younger guys playing well for us, I think. But yeah, we have a good system in place. We’ve got a good group of players and a lot of depth.”

Less than a minute after Sheary’s second tally, the game was tied when winger Garnet Hathaway scored off the rush, his second goal of the season.

The tie lasted a little more than three minutes. With the Capitals on the power play, Carlson gave them the lead with a one-time blast from the left circle. Chara completed the run with 90 seconds left in the frame, finishing a period that started with the hosts down three goals and ended with them up two and in control.

“Quickly, when we scored the first one, you just felt that momentum,” Chara said of the team’s second period. “It was kind of building up, and after that we just kind of went on a roll.”

Oliver Wahlstrom contributed to the slow start by the Capitals by opening the scoring with his first NHL goal at the 9:50 mark of the first period. His shot deflected off Capitals defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk and trickled in after an odd bounce. Casey Cizikas’s redirect in front only 18 seconds later put the Capitals into a 2-0 hole. Anders Lee scored the Islanders’ final goal, putting in a rebound with the visitors on a power play with 3:11 left in the first period.

“We just talked about winning the second period and getting back to our game, and I thought we really played well in the second period, played hard and turned up the heat. . . . I think the guys are playing hard right now. They are having fun, and it is showing,” Laviolette said.