Lack of defense sinks Caps in 8-4 loss to Islanders

The Washington Capitals may have known Thursday would not be a good night early in the first period.

Starting goalie Ilya Samsonov left the ice less than a minute into the game after with teammate T.J. Oshie. Samsonov’s head hit Oshie’s shoulder behind Washington’s goal. The 23-year-old fell to the ice and had to be helped off by trainers. After the game, Oshie said it was a miscommunication that caused the collision.

“I felt terrible, obviously,” Oshie said. “I’ve been hit in the head a couple of times. I’m very aware of the protocols and stuff like that, so I was probably more excited than most to see him get back out there and go in the net.”

While the Capitals took an early 1-0 lead shortly after that on John Carlson’s 8th goal of the year, New York took control of the game and never looked back, cruising to an 8-4 win.

“I think we just gave them too many big chances,” defenseman Justin Schultz said. “They’ve got some skilled players over there that are going to capitalize. I think if we cut down on those, I think we’ll be alright. Just got to move past it and get ready for tomorrow.”

The loss is the second in a row for Washington (23-9-4), and drops the team into a first-place tie with both the Islanders and the red hot Pittsburgh Penguins. All three teams have 50 points in the MassMutual East Division. Pittsburgh has won five straight games.

Matthew Barzal had a hat trick for New York, scoring two goals in the first period and one in the third. Carlson added his 9th of the year in the second period. The Caps also got goals from Daniel Sprong and Oshie.

After playing some of their best hockey of the season, the Caps have now lost two in a row because of sloppy play on the defensive end. Head coach Peter Laviolette said that would be addressed before Friday’s game with the New Jersey Devils.

“I think we did things that shot ourselves in the foot tonight with regard to puck movement and coverage,” Laviolette said. “There’s just certain situational things I don’t think we did a very good job on. Everything is a concern. I guess we just lost a game and gave up eight goals, so look to fix that and be better the next night.”