Jean-Gabriel Pageau and Julien Gauthier pushed the Islanders forward with two goals each on the evening and enabled their team to win 5-1 at home against the Washington Capitals.
Pageau had his best performance of the season offensively and also collected two assists. For his part, Gauthier added an assist in addition to his two goals.
“We had good rebounds and were able to finish the job,” Pageau explained. It's nice to contribute to the attack. We made some key plays that created those opportunities. Our defenders made very good plays […]. I think everyone played well. It wasn’t just our trio’s business.”
Gauthier, for his part, was very appreciative of his Ottawa teammate.
“Jean-Gabriel fed us well,” he emphasized. It was fun to see him go. He deserves it. He is a good person and a great teammate. He makes everyone love him and he does so much to help the team.”
“We have to get back on our feet”
The two strikers have now scored four goals each this season, two fewer than Alexander Ovechkin. The Russian was also left off the top scorers list for the third time in a row.
“We’re not generating enough offense,” Ovechkin said. We have to get back on our feet.”
Nicolas Aube-Kubel was the only one who deceived the alertness of goalkeeper Ilya Sorokin. He scored a goal with 18 seconds left in the game, preventing Sorokin from having a shutout. The goalie still faced 26 pucks.