The Washington Capitals kicked off their New York road trip with a bang against the Islanders on Saturday night. The Caps took him to the Islands, scoring five unanswered goals in the Metro Division win.
It was a fun night and there hasn’t been enough lately.
- The Caps limited the Islanders to just 19 total shots in the game, the lowest a team has made against them this season. They did a good job of bending but not breaking in terms of their chances of dropping out, which has gone in the opposite direction too often in recent months. They also scored five 5-on-5 goals on just 21 shots.
- Rasmus Sandin had another huge night, adding three assists to his tally with the Caps. He became the first player in Caps history to record three multi-point games in his first four games with the team. It’s big stuff.
- Although it may have seemed Darcy Kuemper didn’t have a ton to do, he was once again at the top of his game. MoneyPuck allowed the Caps number one stopper 1.73 more goals than expected. He has now stopped more than 11.6 goals more than expected on the season.
With a 5-1 win tonight over the Islanders, the Capitals move to 17-7-0 with their mentors present.
— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) March 12, 2023
- Our morning favorite series is over. Antoine Mantha had two points against the Isles, including a goal. It was his first goal after 19 games without one and his first point after 12 games without one.
- The penalty was excellent. The Islanders went 0 for 5 with a power play. Despite their struggles elsewhere, the Caps are still one of the top ten shorthanded teams (7th) in the league with an 82.9% efficiency.
- Congratulations to Dylan Strom. He has ten points (4g, 6a) in his last seven games after a two-point night. He is just one point away from matching his total points (48) from last season with the Chicago Blackhawks.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-reference.com and NaturalStatTrick.com.