Vanecek, Capitals shut out Islanders, end four-game skid

ELMONT, N.Y. -- Vitek Vanecek made 23 saves for his first shutout of the season when the Washington Capitals defeated the New York Islanders 2-0 at UBS Arena on Saturday.

It was Vanecek's first start since Dec. 19.
"I wasn't thinking about it; I want to try and help the team," Vanecek said. "I know we'd lost four games in a row and I tried to help the team win the game."

Tom Wilson and Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals (21-8-9), who were 0-2-2 in their previous four games.
"We had a little disconnect the last couple of games," Wilson said. "[The Islanders] have a heavy forecheck, so we were forced to come back in the zone, help our [defensemen] break it out, break out with speed, get our feet moving.
"We were rolling them over for the first 40 minutes. I think they had a bit of a wave in the third where they pushed a little bit, but that's expected. We weathered it for two or three shifts and got back to work. We've got to take the two points and keep building on that."
Semyon Varlamov made 34 saves for the Islanders (11-13-6), who were shut out for the fourth time this season. New York had won three in row and was 4-0-1 in its past five games.
"It felt like a game where we had a layoff," Islanders associate coach Lane Lambert said. "I was expecting more of a lack of execution potentially last game (a 3-2 win against the New Jersey Devils on Thursday) than this game. But certainly, we knew the magnitude of the game. We didn't get the result."

Wilson gave Washington a 1-0 lead at 4:35 of the first period with a wrist shot from the slot. It was his 10th goal of the season and first in eight games.
The Capitals outshot the Islanders 16-7 in the first.
"I don't think it was our best game overall," New York captain Anders Lee said. "I think there were periods where they put the pressure on pretty good. At the end of the day, it's a one-goal game. 'Varly' gave us a great chance, a great opportunity, and we come up short at the end.
"We understand that we could've played a lot better earlier on, but we played good enough to give ourselves a chance at the end."
Vanecek made four saves during an Islanders power play after Capitals forward Brett Leason took a tripping penalty at 16:59 of the second period.
Oliver Wahlstrom nearly tied it for New York at 1:18 of the third period, but Vanecek stretched out his left pad. Vanecek denied Wahlstrom again near the left post with 2:29 left.
Ovechkin scored an empty-net goal with 11 seconds remaining for the 2-0 final. It was his 25th goal of the season and the 16th time in 17 seasons he's scored at least that many. He scored 24 last season.

Two of Vanecek's three NHL shutouts have been against the Islanders (1-0 win on April 27, 2021).
"I thought Vitek was really good," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "He's had some good practice days to get back into a rhythm. He wasn't real busy, and sometimes those are the tougher games to stay into, just because the action's not as heavy. But when we did need some saves, I thought he was focused."
NOTES: Capitals forward T.J. Oshie left in the first period because of an upper-body injury. He is day to day. … UBS Arena is the 41st arena where Ovechkin has scored an NHL goal. … Capitals forward Conor Sheary was placed in NHL COVID-19 protocol before the game. Defenseman John Carlson had to await test results but was cleared to play. … Washington center Evgeny Kuznetsov has a three-game point streak (one goal, two assists). The Capitals are 16-4-3 when he scores at least one point. … Islanders center Jean-Gabriel Pageau had one shot on goal and won six of 10 face-offs in 16:10 of ice time after missing the game Thursday for the birth of his son. … New York was without coach Barry Trotz, who entered NHL COVID-19 protocol Tuesday.