The Capitals swept a three-game series from the Islanders. That was bad enough. But the Islanders went all three games without scoring a goal five-on-five.
The Capitals, without an injured Alex Ovechkin for a second straight game, won, 1-0, on Tuesday night in Washington as the Islanders (29-15-5) have been held to one or fewer goals in five of their last seven games.
Rookie Ilya Sorokin (32 saves) was the surprise starter after making 24 saves in Saturday’s 6-3 loss at Nassau Coliseum, a shaky outing that saw him allow two questionable goals.
Semyon Varlamov, who did not dress because of an undisclosed issue, made 28 saves in Thursday’s 1-0 shootout loss at the Coliseum, his second shutout over the Capitals this season.