NHL

Washington Capitals at New York Islanders

· National Hockey League

Protas has 2 goals and an assist as Capitals beat Islanders 4-2

Matthew Schaefer scores his first NHL goal

Martin Fehervary and Ryan Leonard also scored for Washington. Defenseman Jakob Chychrun had two assists and Alex Ovechkin added one, and goalie Logan Thompson finished with 34 saves to help the Capitals rebound from a 3-1 loss to the Boston Bruins in their season opener earlier this week.

Matthew Schaefer, the top overall pick in this year's NHL Draft, got his first career goal for the Islanders, and Anthony Duclair also scored. Ilya Sorokin had 25 saves as New York fell to 0-2.

Fehervary got the Capitals on the scoreboard 1:50 into the game, and Protas made it 2-0 with 6:08 remaining in the first as Chychrun intercepted a pass by Jean-Gabriel Pageau and found Protas in the slot.

Leonard made it 3-0 when his shot deflected off Islanders defenseman Scott Mayfield and past Sorokin at 9:50 of the second period.

Protas struck again with 4:30 left in the middle period after the Islanders' Tony DeAngelo turned the puck over at the offensive blue line, leading to a breakaway that the Capitals' forward finished for his second of the night.

Duclair scored a power-play goa with 1:09 left in the second before Sorotkin denied Protas a hat trick with a sprawling save at the buzzer to keep it 4-1 heading into the third.

Schaefer dove at a loose puck during a scramble in front to cut the deficit to two earlyat 4:28 of the third for his first NHL goal. Washington challenged the play for goaltender interference but the goal was upheld after a review.

Up next Capitals: visit the New York Rangers on Sunday.

Islanders: host Winnipeg on Monday.

Regular Season Series

WSH leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 1:50 Martin Fehervary Goal (1) Backhand, assists: Alex Ovechkin (1), John Carlson (1)
Goal 1st Period 13:52 Aliaksei Protas Goal (1) Snap Shot, assists: Jakob Chychrun (2), Tom Wilson (1)
Goal 2nd Period 9:50 Ryan Leonard Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Jakob Chychrun (3), Aliaksei Protas (2)
Goal 2nd Period 15:30 Aliaksei Protas Goal (2) Wrist Shot, assists: none
Goal 2nd Period 18:51 Anthony Duclair Goal (1) Wrist Shot, assists: Bo Horvat (1), Kyle Palmieri (1)
Goal 3rd Period 4:28 Matthew Schaefer Goal (1) Poke, assists: Kyle Palmieri (2), Bo Horvat (2)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/nyi.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originNYI
20 Blocked Shots 22
23 Hits 33
6 Takeaways 3
29 Shots 36
0 Power Play Goals 2
2 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 66.7
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
29 Faceoffs Won 32
47.5 Faceoff Win Percent 52.5
17 Giveaways 19
3 Total Penalties 2
6 Penalty Minutes 4
New York Islanders New York Islanders Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Alexander Romanov, D Out Oct 21
Semyon Varlamov, G Injured Reserve Oct 6
Jesse Nurmi, LW Injured Reserve Oct 6
Ethan Bear, D Injured Reserve Oct 6
Pierre Engvall, LW Injured Reserve Oct 6
Washington Capitals Washington Capitals Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Pierre-Luc Dubois, LW Injured Reserve Oct 20

Game Information

UBS Arena

Location: Elmont, NY
Attendance: 17,255 | Capacity:

2025-26 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
New Jersey 0 1 10 5
Carolina 0 1 10 5
Pittsburgh 0 2 10 5
Washington 0 2 10 5
Philadelphia 1 2 7 3
NY Rangers 1 4 7 3
Columbus 0 3 6 3
NY Islanders 0 3 6 3
Full Standings