NEW YORK (AP) The Washington Capitals – particularly T.J. Oshie – were grateful to get a high-scoring win.Oshie scored twice
Justin Williams Jersey , Dmitry Orlov and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and two assists, and the first-place Capitals beat the reeling New York
Islanders 7-3 Thursday night.”I’ve been working hard lately, trying to get my
game going,” said Oshie, who hadn’t scored since Jan 31, a span of 19 games. ”It
felt nice. But more importantly it was good to get a team win with scoring up
and down the lineup.”It was the first time this season the Capitals had scored
seven times and their three-game winning streak is their first since early
January. They remained tied with Pittsburgh atop the Metropolitan Division, but
currently hold the tiebreaker with two games in hand.Andrei Burakovsky added a
goal and an assist, and Lars Eller and John Carlson also scored to help
Washington improve to 10-4-3 in its last 17 games against the Islanders. Evgeny
Kuznetsov had three assists and Philipp Grubauer finished with 35 saves for his
11th win of the season.”We capitalized on some opportunities and Gruby was
really strong tonight,” Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. ”And we had little bit
of luck.”Brock Nelson, Andrew Ladd and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who
lost for the ninth time in 10 games.Christopher Gibson started and gave up five
goals on 12 shots before he was pulled midway through the second period.
Jaroslav Halak came on and finished with eight saves.Despite the lopsided
result, Islanders coach Doug Weight was somehow satisfied with his team’s
effort.”We played pretty well. We had some good chances,” he said. ”The guys
kept working and shooting.”Orlov gave the Capitals a 3-2 lead with 2:43 left in
the first as he beat Gibson for his ninth of the season.Burakovsky extended
Washington’s lead at 3:12 of the second
Custom Florida Panthers Jerseys , and Backstrom made it 5-2 with his 18th with 9:38 remaining in the middle period, ending Gibson’s night.Carlson got his
13th with 4:19 left in the third to give the Capitals a four-goal lead.Pulock
got the Islanders to 6-3 just 52 seconds later, but Oshie scored an empty-netter
for his second of the night and 14th of the season with just under two minutes
to go.The Islanders were coming off a 5-2 win at Calgary on Sunday night that
snapped their eight-game skid (0-4-4) with Gibson making 50 saves. However,
their defensive struggles returned against the Capitals.The Islanders have
allowed a league-high 252 goals and are 15-23-8 since finishing November at
15-7-2. They will almost certainly miss the playoffs for the second straight
year and the third time in five years.New York has won only one playoff series –
in 2016 – in the nine-year career of their captain John Tavares, who is set to
become an unrestricted free agent in July.Weight replaced Jack Capuano behind
the bench midway through last season and the Islanders surged to finish with 94
points, narrowly missing the postseason.But their play has been haphazard this
season and amid their most recent swoon – especially at home – their season is
on the ropes. They are 4-10-1 at Barclays Center starting with a Jan. 2 loss
against Boston.Nelson opened the scoring at 2:19 of the first as he took a pass
from rookie Tanner Fritz while skating down the slot before beating Grubauer for
his 16th.Eller tied it at 10:19 with his 16th before Oshie scored at 11:29 to
put the Capitals ahead 2-1.Ladd tied the score 2-2 at 12:29 when he scored his
10th. Rookie Mathew Barzal got his team-leading 52nd assist on the play.NOTES:
Washington is 26-12-5 against Eastern Conference opponents this season. … The
Islanders on Thursday signed forward Scott Eansor to a two-year, two-way
contract. The 21-year-old Eansor has 16 goals for AHL Bridgeport this season. He
was a teammate of Barzal with the junior Seattle Thunderbirds previously. … The
Islanders scratched D Dennis Seidenberg, D Sebastian Aho and F Chris Wagner. …
Washington scratched D Christian Djoos, F Alex Chiasson and F Travis Boyd.UP
NEXTCapitals: Host the Islanders on Friday.Islanders: At Washington on Friday.
PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Caught at a crossroads between a full-blown rebuild and a
legitimate playoff push, the Philadelphia Flyers fired general manager Ron
Hextall on Monday, the latest front-office leader to fail to win the franchise’s
first Stanley Cup in 44 years.The Flyers might not be done cleaning house.Coach
Dave Hakstol has now lost his biggest backer and his job clearly is in danger.
The Flyers have a 10-11-2 record and have lost five of six. They are fresh off a
6-0 loss to Toronto in which an organization once stamped as “Broad Street
Bullies” played without a penalty.“I feel a responsibility for what happened
today,” Hakstol said. “Nobody feels good about that in our room.”Hextall, a
popular Flyers goalie in the 1980s and ’90s
http://www.officialhurricanes.com/authentic-adidas-rod-brind_amour-jersey , was dismissed after 4 ½ seasons on the job in which he tried to revive a
depleted farm system and patiently build a championship contender.Flyers
President Paul Holmgren thanked Hextall for his “many significant contributions,
but it has become clear that we no longer share the same philosophical approach
concerning the direction of the team.”He added that an immediate change was in
the team’s best interests and he hopes to have a new GM “as soon as
possible
