"I almost forgot how it was to score a goal." Nicklas Backstrom, obviously relieved his 21-game goal-less streak is over.

THE RESULT:  The last time Nicklas Backstrom scored an NHL goal was Dec. 1 in a 4-1 win over the St. Louis Blues.  It was the Washington Capitals fourth straight win and their record was 18-6-2, good for first in the Eastern Conference.

The HBO cameras had not yet arrived.  The Winter Classic was just a gleam in everyone's eye.  And they had not yet started the eight-game losing streak that killed the early-season moment, though it would commence the next night in Dallas.

But last night on Long Island, Backstrom got his mojo back with a goal (12) and an assist, leading the Caps to victory over the cellar-dwelling New York Islanders, 2-1, before an announced 9,119 at the dreary Nassau Coliseum.

Jason Chimera had the Caps other goal, while captain Alex Ovechkin had the primary assist on both markers.

Rookie goalie Braden Holtby, recalled in the morning for the ailing Michal Neuvirth, started and saved 24-of-25 shots on goal.

Ovechkin was the instigator on both goals.  He fed Chimera, camping in the crease, for a redirect to take a 1-0 lead early in the first period.  Then in the second, he made a strong move going to the net and had his attempt stopped by Islanders goalie Rick DiPietro (22 saves), but Backstrom followed it up and merely tapped the puck into the net to seal the deal.

New York got their goal less than two minutes later, as Michael Grabner corralled a long pass and skated around John Carlson, roofing a shot on Holtby as he cut through the crease.

Despite some anxious moments killing off power plays, Washington kept the young Islanders, and their leading scorer John Tavares, bottled up the rest of the evening.  Taveras got five shots on goal, but none were quality scoring chances.

So the Caps have now taken three out of four available points to them so far on this three-game road trip, with Saturday night's matchup in Toronto looming.  Hockey Night in Canada is never a fun game to play in, especially at the end of a week-long roadie. 

But last night's win should buoy the spirit of this team, still trying to find itself though we're past the half-way point of the season.  For the past month and a half, the Caps have been playing under a bad moon, heads hung low and dragging their feet, wondering what bad luck would befall them next.

Last night, for the first time in a long time, they looked like a weight had been lifted off their shoulders.  None moreso than Backstrom, who was in the deepest slump of his young career.  Both goals came as a result of forwards driving to the net.  The grinders (notably Boyd Gordon and Matt Hendricks) dug in the corner for pucks.  Defensemen shut down passing lanes and clogged the neutral zone.

It wasn't a dominating game by any stretch of the imagination and the opponent wasn't the fiercest.  But it was a hard-fought two points, and the Caps needed the effort -- and the result.

THE GOOD:  The penalty kill team killed all six minor penalties against.  The defense in general, against a pretty weak Islanders attack, looked good all night, holding them to just 25 shots.

The Caps had the best in the dot as well, winning 62 percent of the draws.

THE BAD:  Mathieu Perreault's tripping penalty at 9:34 of the 3rd was infuriating.  The Islander d-man was clearing the puck from behind his own net and Perreault came barrelling for him, lost his edge, reached out his stick, and tripped up the defenseman unnecessarily, causing much angst for the two minute disadvantage.

THE UGLY:  Not that there was anything ugly about his performance, but D.J. King only got six shifts and 3:25 of TOI, and that's with the Islanders carrying two of the top fighters in the league.  It's pretty apparent where he fits into Bruce Boudreau's system.

THE STATS: Jason Chimera (7) from Alex Ovechkin (31) and Nicklas Backstrom (32) at 3:41 of 1st. Nicklas Backstrom (12) from Alex Ovechkin (32) and John Carlson (15) at 3:38 of 2nd.

NEXT GAME:  Hockey Night in Canada: Saturday at Toronto Maple Leafs at 7:00 pm.

CAPS NEWS NETWORK THREE STARS

3. Jason Chimera/Braden Holtby.  Can't make up my mind.  Couldn't have been easy for Holtby to rush to Long Island and make 24-of-25 saves.  Chimmy had six shots on goal and a couple of big hits.  Respect the speed.

2. Alex Ovechkin.  He only managed one SOG and two others blocked, but had the primary assist on both goals, and looks more like himself every game.  It's coming.

1. Nicklas Backstrom.  Goal, assist, plus-2, 10-for-14 in the dot.  His best game in weeks.  Even snuck in an expletive directed at an Islanders player after the final horn.  Stay Angry, Nicky.

It's only mid-January, but the Washington Capitals are already facing a pivotal juncture in their season.  Their next two games, against two of the worst teams in the Eastern Conference are, for all intents and purposes, Must Win Games.

Tonight, the Caps skate into the Nassau Coliseum to take on the New York Islanders, one of the most down-trodden, talent-poor, financially strapped teams in all of hockey.  Their struggles are well documented, and their play on the ice this season has been as poor as their mis-management.

Ranked 14th in the conference (29th in the league), the Islanders have a goal differential of minus-40, fourth worst in the NHL.  The Isles have been semi-respectable in their last ten games, going 5-4-1, but the fact of the matter is they are one of the worst teams in the league on offense (2.42 GF/G, 28th) AND defense (3.27 GA/G, 29th).  Only mediocre special teams play (18th in PP, 19th in PK) have kept them from being even worse.

They don't have a player in the Top 60 in scoring, and they just traded away their best goalie (noted Caps-killer Dwayne Roloson).

They don't have a single player that's dressed for even one game with a positive +/- rating.

Saturday, the Caps go to Toronto, the butt of league jokes for years now.  Once one of the storied franchises in the game, the Leafs (of Laffs, of Loafs, depending on which blogs you read) are now perhaps the league's biggest disappointment. 

Playing in Canada's biggest market, with all that tradition and high expectations, they continue to flounder despite who they bring in run things or play the game.

The Leafs are currently 12th in the conference (and 27th overall) and have a minus-25 goal differential, so it's not by accident.  They are one spot ahead of the Islanders in GF/G (2.43, 28th), and merely bad on defense, ranked 22nd in GA/G (3.02).

Toronto's leading scorer, Clarke MacArthur, is enjoying his career year having already surpassed his previous season-high points total.  Even then, he almost has as many PIMs as points.

The Capitals sit fifth in the conference heading into tonight's game with the Islanders, where about 3,000 fans will watch. They are only seven points out of first, but only eight points out of ninth place. 

These four points are crucial to the Capitals, both in the standings and to their pysche.  They know where the Islanders and Maple Leafs are in the standings.  They know where they themselves are in the standings.  These are games that good teams simply must win, regardless that they come during a three-game road trip.

Now is the time to these Caps to galvanize.  Forget about the injuries and who's not with them currently.  Forget about the media, the hype, the attention.  Forget about previous missed opportunities.  Forget about everything else.

Work hard.  Skate hard.  Go to the net.  Stand up for your teammates.  Stand up for yourselves. Forecheck.  Backcheck.  Do the little things.  Do the dirty work in the corners.  Win.

The Captain said it following Tuesday's overtime loss to conference-leading Philly:  "We have to go to the net, find our rebound, crash the nets, make some hits -- you know, be angry."

Be angry, indeed.

 

We'll see what this team is really made of in the next three days.  If the Caps don't take two points will they be mathematically eliminated from the playoffs?  Far from it.  But losses could very well be emotional cripplers that send the team further and quicker down the negative sprial that is following this team lately.

 

It's easy to get up for a New Year's Day game on national television against the Penguins.