Caps give rings to ex-coaches, then beat Isles

[November 27, 2018]  Washington winger Tom Wilson scored two goals and added an assist Monday to lead the visiting Capitals to a 4-1 win over the New York Islanders, completing a reunion-filled evening.

The Capitals earned their sixth straight win hours after Islanders head coach Barry Trotz, who left for New York after coaching Washington to the franchise's first Stanley Cup last season, received his championship ring prior to the first game of the season between the Metropolitan Division rivals.

Trotz gave an emotional speech to his former players inside the visiting locker room at Barclays Center. Former Capitals assistant coaches Lane Lambert and Mitch Korn, who accompanied Trotz to New York, also were presented with their rings Monday afternoon.

Wilson, who has been booed constantly by Islanders fans since he delivered the hit that ended the career of concussion-prone New York defenseman Lubomir Visnovsky during a playoff series between the teams in 2015, scored the Capitals' first and third goals. Nic Dowd scored the tiebreaking goal in the second period, and Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter in the waning seconds.

Capitals goalie Braden Holtby made 32 saves.

Valtteri Filppula scored for the Islanders, who had a two-game winning streak snapped. Goalie Thomas Greiss recorded 20 saves.

A pair of red-hot players exchanged goals in the first three minutes of the first period.

Washington Capitals celebrate the goal by right wing Tom Wilson (43) against the New York Islanders during the first period at Barclays Center. Mandatory Credit: Dennis Schneidler-USA TODAY Sports

Filppula nearly scored to cap an end-to-end rush by the Islanders, but Holtby swiped away the puck just as Filppula descended upon the crease. Filppula circled back to the faceoff circle and beat Holtby just 36 seconds into the game. It was the second goal in as many games for Filippula, who has eight points in his past seven games.

Wilson tied the score 2:14 later. After beating Thomas Hickey to Nicklas Backstrom's pass to the Islanders' blue line, Wilson fired a shot past Greiss to extend his goal-scoring streak to four games. Backstrom finished with three assists.

Dowd put Washington on top 2-1 at 7:58 of the second period. John Carlson fired the puck the length of the ice to Dmitrij Jaskin, who dropped a no-look pass to Dowd, whose shot sailed over the glove of Greiss.

Wilson provided insurance with a power-play tally with 5:39 left in the third. Ovechkin scored an empty-netter with 21.4 seconds remaining.

--Field Level Media

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