Capitals rally for shootout win over Islanders
Chris Clark scored the deciding goal in the 11th round of the shootout, and backup goalie Semyon Varlamov came on in relief and carried the Washington Capitals to a 5-4 comeback victory over the New York Islanders.
Alexander Semin scored two regulation goals for the Capitals, who played their fourth straight game without top scorer Alex Ovechkin (upper body strain), and added one in the second round of the shootout.
Semin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead just 8 seconds in, but the Islanders ended starting goalie Jose Theodore's night with three quick goals. New York scored three times on five shots against Theodore. Varlamov stopped 24 of 25 shots and then sealed the win by denying Mark Streit's shootout attempt in the 11th round.
Jeff Tambellini gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead in the first round of the shootout, and Semin tied it in the second. The only other goal was Clark's snap-shot winner against Dwayne Roloson.
Matt Moulson brought the Islanders into a 1-1 when he put in a rebound just 1:02 into the game. Streit gave New York the lead at 5:10. Sean Bergenheim then beat Theodore with a backhander on a breakaway to make it 3-1 at 6:54.
The Capitals rallied as Tomas Fleischmann and Semin scored power-play goals to tie it at 3. Eric Fehr then beat Roloson on a spinning backhand shot late in the second period for a 4-3 Capitals lead.
But the Islanders forced overtime when Trent Hunter scored a power-play goal with 2:08 left in regulation.
Notes
NHL commissioner Gary Bettman came to the game and met with KHL President Alex Medvedev and others. ... Semin's early goal tied Gaetan Duchesne's team record for fastest goal at the start of the game, set in 1987. ... Fleischmann has six goals in his seven games this season. ... Two of defenseman Streit's three goals this season have come against Washington.
