This entry was written by DCist contributor Jesse Rounds

For the first time in the last 28 attempts the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals in New York, thus keeping the Caps from failing to capitalize on their win against the Tampa Bay Lightning earlier in the week. The 5-3 loss was more a result of a foolish penalty late in the third period than a poorly played game.

Prior to the third period the Caps controlled the pace of the game. Even without star rookie Alexander Ovechkin and forward Dainius Zubrus, who were both out with injuries, the young team made intelligent plays and worked relatively well on the penalty kill. Brian Willsie opened the scoring and added an assist in the second period, while Matt Pettinger had an assist on Willsie’s goal and scored one of his own in the second period. Jeff Friesen snapped out of a slump with a deflected goal to round out the Caps scoring.

(AP photo by Ed Betz)

Filed Under: alexander ovechkin, capitals, Dainius Zubrus, dcist, easternconference, Ed Betz, games, Islanders, Jesse Rounds, Kyle Gustafson, lightning, Matt Pettinger, mattpettinger, new york, new york islanders, pittsburghpenguins, southeastdivision, sports, Tampa Bay, Tampa Bay Lightning, the game, torontomapleleafs, washington, washington capitals,