Third-period penalties burn Capitals against Islanders

Mike Ribeiro can be a polarizing figure and he proved that again Saturday.

Ribeiro, the Washington Capitals center, was called for high-sticking New York Islanders forward John Tavares then slammed with an unsportsmanlike conduct minor for complaining about the first call in the third period.

Tavares scored late in the ensuing second power play to give the Islanders a 3-2 lead and then added another goal on another man-advantage 30 seconds later to up the lead to a pair of goals.

The final score ended 5-2 for the Islanders.

“Mike knows better than that,” Capitals head coach Adam Oates told NHL.com.  “I’m sure he feels bad about it.”

Jeff Schultz was also dinged for a high-sticking double-minor just 22 seconds after Tavares gave the Islanders the lead in the third period.

“The penalties in the third period were deflating for us,” Capitals right winger Troy Brouwer told the Associated Press.

“We fought back to tie it and then to have two four-minute penalties against us was tough.”

Tavares is now up to 16 goals and 29 points on the season. He experienced a three-game skid without a point at the end of February into the start of March.

Since March 5, he now has four points in his last three games.