Pressed into service, goalie Clay Stevenson has delivered 2 important wins for Washington

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Washington Capitals were already facing an urgent situation, having fallen below the playoff cut line. Then they lost their top two goalies to injuries at the same time.

Clay Stevenson seized his opportunity.

Stevenson made 29 saves Monday night, helping Washington to a 4-1 victory over the New York Islanders. The 26-year-old goalie, who had only one NHL game on his resume before last weekend, has now won each of his two starts since rejoining the Capitals. He also beat Carolina on Saturday.

“No different than forwards or defensemen, you're going to go through injuries and things are going to happen throughout the season,” coach Spencer Carbery said. “Being able to have someone like Clay be able to come up and play really well like he has over the last couple games is certainly something that the organization thinks is important.”

Stevenson played one game for the Capitals last season. In his return Saturday, Washington fell behind 3-0 before rallying to beat the Hurricanes 4-3 in overtime for his first career victory. With Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren still unavailable, Stevenson played again Monday in a huge divisional matchup with the Islanders.

The win pulled the Capitals within two points of the Islanders for the Metropolitan Division's third playoff spot. It could have been a lot worse, but Washington has turned things around following a concerning slump and now has a three-game winning streak. The Capitals have two more games before the Olympic break.

“Guys understand the significance that essentially our season's on the line and our playoff lives are on the line," Carbery said. "Once you get down after the break, you're 10 points back or whatever it might be like that — you got to go on like an 18-2 rip.”

Thanks to Stevenson, Washington has a more manageable hill to climb. Now the Capitals play at Philadelphia on Tuesday night. Carbery wouldn't commit to a starting goalie. The Capitals also recently called up Garin Bjorklund from the minors, but he's never played in the NHL.

Stevenson said he's able if needed for the second half of this back-to-back and he's done it already many times.

"I'm ready always.”

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