Islanders Vs. Capitals: Alex Ovechkin’s End-To-End Overtime Beauty Wins It For Caps

Alex Ovechkin picked the puck up along the boards in his own end during overtime last night against the New York Islanders. He moved out into the neutral zone, gained some room, turned on the jets, made Frans Nielsen turn around about eight times, and ultimately, did this.

He’s good at hockey. Most importantly, he’s been doing stuff like that -- although maybe not to that extent -- a whole lot more of late, and if the Capitals want to have any real success in the postseason, they’re going to need No. 8 to be No. 8. His overtime winner on Tuesday night was a good indication that he’s getting back to form.

It’s a shame for Nathan Lawson, too. The Islanders goaltender made 40 saves against the high-flying Caps, including several right off the bat in the first period. The Washington offense seemed to get a sizable boost from the additions of Jason Arnott and Marco Sturm.

Sturm started the game with Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, and while he looked good his handful of shifts there and even had a breakaway chance, it didn’t take long for Bruce Boudreau to change things up. Patience is a virtue, Bruce. It’s one of the reasons why Haagen-Dazs doesn’t open at 10 a.m.

Arnott came frustratingly close to a goal off a feed from Brooks Laich, but those roles would reverse late in the third as Laich scored the game-tying goal with an extra attacker.