The New York Islanders defeated the Washington Capitals in Game 3 of the First Round of the Stanley Cup Playoffs. The Islanders also won Games 1 and 2. Here is the recap of Game 3 between the Islanders and Capitals.
New York: Thomas Hickey, Michael Dal Colle, Tom Kuhnhackl, Andrew Ladd, Noah Dobson, Sebastian Aho, Johnny Boychuk, Ross Johnston, Otto Koivula, Christopher Gibson
Washington: Nicklas Backstrom, Tyler Lewington, Beck Malenstyn, Alexander Alexeyv, Pheonix Copley, Connor McMichael, Philippe Maillet, Daniel Sprong, Michal Kempny, Travis Boyd, Jonas Siegenthaler
Both teams went at it but the Capitals wanted to make sure they established their game early on. However, it would be the Islanders that grabbed the game’s first goal from captain Anders Lee. Lee scored with 5:10 left in the period. The Islanders also dominated the second half of the period ending the period with a 14-6 shots on goal advantage.
New York went into the second period with a 1-0 lead.
The Capitals had a better showing this period getting an early goal on the power play by forward Evgeny Kuznetsov. Kuznetsov tied the game at one with just 14:12 left in the period. From there, the Capitals continued to dominate the period until the last five minutes. Both teams also had an even amount of shots on goal with 10.
The game was tied at one heading into the third period.
No goals were scored but the Islanders mostly controlled this period outshooting the Capitals 8-4. This was more of a defensive period primarily for the Capitals to keep the game tied. However, both teams had chances to take the lead just in different times in the period. The Capitals had four shots that could’ve tied the game during the first half of the period. And, the Islanders made a late push to try and win the game in the final five minutes of the period.
The game was still tied at one heading into overtime.
It didn’t take long until a winner was decided. Capitals forward Jakub Vrana had the best chance to win the game just four minutes into overtime. However, Islanders goaltender Semyon Varlamov made the huge save to keep his team in the game. 28 seconds later, Islanders forward Mathew Barzal went on a breakaway and scored the overtime game winning goal.
New York won the game 2-1 and extended their series lead 3-0.
Third Star: John Carlson (1 assist)
Second Star: Ryan Pulock (1 assist)
First Star: Mathew Barzal (1 goal)
Washington is facing a 3-0 deficit heading into Game 4. The 2018 champions haven’t been playing consistently throughout this series and New York has taken advantage of their mistakes. Washington needs to produce more shots on goal in order to compete with a quicker New York team. They have the players to do so but how the coaching staff utilizes them going into Game 4 is up for debate. Washington also needs to stay out of the penalty box during Game 5. They racked up 10 penalty minutes in this game and New York will take every power play they can get to get more scoring chances.
On the other hand, New York has been playing phenomenal against a team that still has some gas left in the tank. They’ve dominated Washington on the offensive end through this point. They’re also the quicker team which makes puck recovery much easier for New York. If they can keep playing like this heading into Game 4, not only could they get a sweep but they might be able to make a deep run this postseason.
Game 4 of the Islanders-Capitals series is on Aug. 18 at 8:00 p.m. EST.
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