Now things are getting all serious and interesting at the same time. The Islanders traveled back to Washington to take on the Capitals in a critical Game#5 of the series. After not getting any help from Mr. Rainbow on Tuesday night, the Islanders planned to take things into their own hands on Thursday night in the nation's capital.
The big hubbub the last couple of days was the hit that Tom Wilson laid on Lubomir Visnovsky at the Nassau Coliseum. Apparently, Barry Trotz, the Capitals Head Coach, asked his team to focus on Visnovsky at the start of the series. Lubo was hit numerous times by the Capitals until he eventually got steam-rolled by Tom Wilson in Game#4.
The fact that Wilson was only twenty seconds removed from the penalty box when he ran over Visnovsky and that he hit him very high was telling. In fact, Brooks Laich was quoted as saying that "it was a good penalty to take" because it reduced the number of Islanders defensemen to five for the rest of the game. What other proof does the NHL need to see that the Capitals not only targeted Visnovsky, but also specifically targeted his head?
The Islanders were not happy about what transpired. As much as they wanted to take revenge on Tom Wilson, they had to be careful. If they ran around the rink looking for that one hit to make amends, it could very easily have distracted them from the important task at hand. The best revenge would be for the Islanders to send this team home after the first round.
As far as the line-up went, Mikhail Grabovski made his return from his own concussion after a couple of months. It was going to be interesting to see how much Grabovski could offer his team. It is one thing to come back after a couple of months off, however, it is clearly another thing to come back and make your return in the playoffs. He was paired with his buddy Nickolay Kulemin and Ryan Strome. Kyle Okposo was bumped back up to the top line to play with Bailey.
As far as Visnovsky's replacement went it looked to be a toss-up between Griffin Reinhart and Ryan Pulock. After the pre-game skate the coaches opted for Reinhart whom they paired with Thomas Hickey. Reinhart has played some big games in junior hockey and has won a championship so hopefully that experience would be one that he could lean on in the game.
The Islanders got to the Verizon Center late all because of a presidential motorcade. It remained to be seen if that would have any affect on their pre-game preparation. The game did start on time and the first period was fast and furious. The Verizon Center crowd was louder than normal. I guess someone sent the Washington faithful an email that the playoffs had started.
As expected, the Islanders were back on their heels at the start and just tried to weather the storm for the first few minutes. Griffen Reinhart looked a little shaky at first, but made a few could plays before the period closed. Grabovski showed good speed but was a bit rusty with his shot.
The first turning point came when Anders Lee stepped up for the Islanders and challenged Tom Wilson to a fight. Lee got in two strong rights before Tom Wilson rallied with some blows. Anders then wrestled Wilson to the ice. Good to see Lee sticking up for his teammate. That seemed to energize the Islanders as it only took another thirty seconds for them to tally the first goal.
John Tavares did some yeoman's work behind the net as he fell down a couple of times before having the presence of mind to feed Nick Leddy who quickly found Josh Bailey in the slot for the first goal of the game. It was Bailey's 2nd goal of the playoffs. It was critical to get on the board first.
However, the lead did not last long as a couple of minutes later the Capitals were able to draw even off of a face-off. Evgeny Kuznetsov was able to knock in the puck out of midair behind Jaroslav Halak. Really could not fault Jaro for that one. For the period the shots were pretty even with Washington having a slight 10-8 lead, but the Islanders had a big edge in hits 31-18.
The second period was not a good one for the Islanders. Washington started to pepper Halak who made a number of good saves to keep the game close. However, the Capitals were able to take the lead when Troy Brouwer, after being stopped by Halak, wrestled the puck away from him without a whistle. Brouwer then was able to get it to Karl Alzner who had a wide open goal for a 2-1 lead. On the play it did look like Halak had covered the puck for a second but the referees did not stop play.
The Islanders got the first power play opportunity when Kuznetsov high-sticked Nick Leddy, but there was nothing doing for the ensuing two minutes as the Capitals were able to clear the zone multiple times. That improved the New York powerless play to an impressive 0-11 for the series. Not sure how you win a series without a power play goal.
During the second period, Washington dominated the shots 18-8 and had a distinct advantage in zone time. The Capitals also out hit the Islanders during the period 22-8. Dominant period by Washington on all accounts. It was not a good sign of things to come.
The Capitals started the third period on their first power play thanks to a tripping penalty by Halak on Alexander Ovechkin right at the end of the middle frame. After killing off the penalty, Calvin deHaan left the game after taking a hit which reduced the Islanders once again to five defensemen for the second game in a row. That is when all hell broke loose.
The Capitals scored three straight goals by Chimera, Kuznetsov, and Laich to take a commanding 5-1 lead. Halak was pulled in favor or Neuvirth and the Islanders basically gave up and starting preparing for Game#6 at the Nassau Coliseum on Saturday. But before the game was over the Islanders left their fans a little present as they failed on their 12th power play of the series. Its such an awesome feeling when they don't score, said no one,
So now it is do or die. I have to believe the Islanders will win on Saturday and force a seventh game. But there has to be some concern about the health of their defensemen as well as the lack of goal scoring. That is three straight games of a single goal in regulation time. The Islanders need a strong effort at home in what could be the last game at the Nassau Coliseum.
Is this how it is going to end? Another disappointing first round loss? Two years ago the Islanders were just happy to be in the playoffs against the Penguins. This year was different. The Islanders dominated for the first half of the regular season and showed so much promise. Now the opportunity in front of them seems to be fading slowly away.
Its not the end, but when you can see the end off in the distance it is not a very good sign. Its also not a very good feeling. There are only two ways to react. You either give up and go home or embrace the challenge and move on. Hopefully the Islanders will see what is staring them straight in the face and wake up before it is too late.
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