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Capitals show Islanders why they are class of NHL right now

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Nate Schmidt's shot slips by Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak in the Capitals 4-1 win Thursday.Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

Nate Schmidt’s shot slips by Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak in the Capitals 4-1 win Thursday.

The Islanders hadn’t faced Thursday’s opponent in nearly nine months, when Washington bounced them from last spring’s playoffs in seven games.

The NHL-leading Capitals are playing even better than the Isles remembered, however, and they continued to put distance between themselves and the rest of the Metropolitan Division by skating to a 4-1 victory in their first visit to Barclays Center.

Alex Ovechkin netted his 497th career goal as the Caps (30-7-3) extended their lead over the second-place Isles to 14 points at the 41-game midpoint for Jack Capuano’s team.

Jaroslav Halak coughed up two shaky goals among the three he permitted in his first start in net for the Isles (22-14-5) since suffering an upper-body injury on Dec. 21.

ISLANDERS TIRED OF PLANES, TRAINS AND AUTOMOBILES ROUTINE

Earlier Thursday, the Isles notably switched their game-day morning skates back to their facility in Syosset on Long Island. Team captain John Tavares had allowed in November that commuting to Brooklyn during morning rush hour by train and then staying all day at a nearby hotel following morning skates made it “somewhat” feel as if the Isles were playing all 82 of their games this season on the road.

“It’s obviously been a big change this year going to Brooklyn and we’re trying many different things to see what works best,” Tavares said before the game. “I think mostly that’s what it’s about to reduce some of the travel, some of the ‘planes, trains and automobiles,’ with all the transportation we take…We’re obviously still working out the kinks.”

Capitals' Alex Ovechkin scores in his first game at the Barclays Center.Mike Stobe/NHLI via Getty Images

Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin scores in his first game at the Barclays Center.

The Isles now are 13-7-2 at Barclays in their first season since moving from Nassau Coliseum. But Capuano indicated the switch to skate and meet on Long Island – where all of the Isles still live — was made at the players’ request and will continue “for a while.”

“For us, I don’t think we saw how maybe this would work,” said Tavares, who was named Wednesday to his third consecutive All-Star Game. “I think a lot of us wanted to experience being at Barclays more, being in the room, skating there and getting to know the ice. But now it seems like a lot of us have gotten a good sense of that.

“At this point in the year, you travel so much, you go back and forth so much, I think you just want to spend time at home when you’re at home and make it feel more like it’s been in the past.”

The Coliseum, of course, rocked during the playoffs last spring against the Caps. But Jason Chimera and Ovechkin netted goals Thursday night that bounded in off of Halak’s pads in the opening period, while Brock Nelson (14th) and Nate Schmidt traded scores in the second for a 3-1 Washington lead.

Caps goalie Braden Holtby stopped several potential game-tying chances early in the middle session, before Nicklas Backstrom picked Marek Zidlicky’s pocket behind the Isles net to set up Schmidt’s blast with 4:46 remaining. Backstrom closed the scoring with an empty-netter with 2:42 left in the third.

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