Green and goons give Caps a boost

UNIONDALE, N.Y. | Agitators Nate Thompson and Tim Jackman are supposed to provide energy and spark for the New York Islanders, but on this night it worked the other way.

Thompson’s knee-on-knee hit on Washington Capitals defenseman Mike Green and other antics by Jackman helped wake up the sluggish Caps, and they rallied from a two-goal deficit to fend off the pesky Islanders 3-2 in overtime Saturday at Nassau Coliseum.

“I think [Green] got mad and said, ’The heck with this,’ and he played the way he can,” coach Bruce Boudreau said. “Joining rushes, shooting the puck, making plays - that’s why I thought he was the best defenseman in the league last year.”

Added Green: “[Alex Ovechkin] was in there, and there’s not too many times he is in the middle of a scrum,” Green said. “When you have guys like that stepping up for each other and really caring for each other, that’s when things turn around.”

Green’s play spiked immediately after the collision. He started the rally with a goal, and then Brooks Laich directed a perfect feed from Green 60 seconds into the extra session to win it. The Caps won for the fourth straight game and prevailed in overtime for the third consecutive trip to this building.

“[Brooks] plays such a simple game that you always know where he’s going,” Green said. “In that case, I knew he was going to the net, and he’s got such a good stick. And being as strong as he is, he got a good shot off.”

Added Laich: “That’s the element [Green] brings to our game. Maybe that hit woke him up a little bit. The goal he scored was just a big-time goal.”

After the Islanders took a two-goal lead early in the third period, the Caps clawed their way back. Green cut the lead in half at 6:02. He ripped a shot from the top of the right faceoff circle inside the far post for his second tally of the season.

Keith Aucoin leveled the score at 13:10 with the help of some Ovechkin-caused turbulence in front of the net. After Ovechkin gave Aucoin the puck, he went to the net and got tangled up with a defenseman and goaltender Dwayne Roloson.

Aucoin’s first shot came from the right circle. He collected his rebound, carried it behind the net and then banked a shot off Islanders center Josh Bailey in front for his first goal of the year.

“[Ovechkin] made a nice play, and the puck came right to my stick,” Aucoin said. “It was kind of a lucky bounce, but good things happen when you get it to the net.”

Boudreau was mixing and matching lines in the third period to ignite the comeback, and he put Aucoin on the ice with Ovechkin and David Steckel - an atypical unit but one that produced.

“To me, [Aucoin] was as dangerous as we had all night long,” Boudreau said. “I was trying to find spots for him. I know he’s not a right winger, but I threw him out there because I know he can make plays.”

Islanders defenseman Radek Martinek had the lone goal of the opening period, and it came while short-handed. New York ended up with a three-on-two despite being down a man, and Martinek took a drop pass from Frans Nielsen and ripped a slap shot past netminder Jose Theodore.

Jeff Tambellini made it a 2-0 lead 3:44 into the final period. After Bailey won the draw against Nicklas Backstrom to Theodore’s right, Blake Comeau sent a shot toward the net that would have gone wide, but Tambellini redirected inside the near post.

“I was just praying for no more faceoffs in our own zone,” said Boudreau, whose team lost 46 of 66 draws. “Usually we’re fairly good at that, but we got terribly outplayed in the faceoff circle tonight.”

Theodore was brilliant at times, making 28 saves in his return from a back injury. The Islanders would have had a bigger lead if not for Theodore, and his biggest two saves came on Kyle Okposo from point-blank range with the Caps down 2-1.

“I said, ’That’s the save that’s going to save us,’ ” Boudreau said. “I said, ’Let’s win for him.’ He’s played so well for us, and yet we let games slip away. I was really happy he was in there for the win.”