Washington – The Washington Capitals won’t win many games in which Alex Ovechkin is limited to a single shot in regulation, and they never fare well when extended to a shootout.
None of that mattered Sunday against the New York Islanders.
Alexander Semin scored the lone goal in a shootout, Olie Kolzig had 31 saves and Washington snapped a three-game skid with a 2-1 victory.
Ovechkin, who leads the NHL with 33 goals, was held scoreless on just two shots – none through the first two periods. He also misfired in the shootout.
Ovechkin has at least a point in 43 of the Capitals’ 54 games.
He failed to get one Saturday in a 2-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, and this marked the first time this season he didn’t register a point in consecutive games.
But the Capitals got two points in the standings, and that’s all that mattered to the second-year star, especially since Washington had won only two of 10 games.
“We will take these points. I’m happy we win,” Ovechkin said. “We lose eight in 10 and we forget what it feels like winning. This game was important to us.”
Kolzig was flawless in the shootout, stopping Miroslav Satan, Viktor Kozlov and Jason Blake.
Washington was winless in five shootouts before Sunday.
“We finally got one,” Kolzig said. “Hopefully it’s a sign for us.”
Mike Sillinger scored the lone goal for the Islanders, and Rick DiPietro stopped 30 shots. Each of the Islanders’ last three defeats have come after they played to a tie in regulation.
“It’s tough when you lose that extra point,” Islanders coach Ted Nolan said. “The shootout is more of a skills competition. Sometimes they go in, sometimes they don’t.”
In the shootout, Semin went first. He went straight at DiPietro, deked right and stuffed a backhander into the net. Kolzig did the rest.
