Nassau Coliseum is open for NHL business for at least two more days, thanks to the Islanders’ most gutsy, most important and perhaps most physical win of the season. The goal that broke a 1-1 tie in the third period today was unlike any goal I have ever seen, and I have been a hockey fan for 40 years. The empty-net goal that sealed the win was scored by a fourth-line winger who richly deserved to be on the score sheet. The cheap shots as the final horn sounded give me hope that the Capitals are becoming frustrated and that maybe, just maybe, they might succumb to the pressure when Game 7 is played in their building Monday night.
Today, like Game 4, was a bruising battle in which players on both sides smashed into each other all game long. The physical price that hockey demands in the quest for the Stanley Cup leaves me shaking my head in awe sometimes. Players in this series have shown that kind of courage. I think of Lubomir Visnovsky in Game 3, getting crushed by the much bigger Alex Ovechkin, then bouncing right back to fire a shot that Kyle Okposo deflected in for the lead. I think of Game 4, when Capitals defenseman Brooks Orpik rushed off to the dressing room, his face bleeding, then reappeared on the bench a few minutes later with a visor attached to his helmet, ready to put himself in harm’s way again.
Today’s courage award goes to John Tavares. The Islanders’ captain did all he could to carry his team on his back. He scored the first goal, skating to his left and firing back to his right to fool goalie Braden Holtby. He got involved in the physical play more than he usually does, and was in the penalty box for a slashing penalty when John Carlson tied the score with just 4.3 seconds left in the first period. That’s how it stood until 9:27 remained in the third, when Nikolay Kulemin — set up by Tavares — scored a goal like no other.
The play started in the neutral zone, along the wall in front of the benches, where a battle for the puck involving two players from each team escalated. First there was a brief wrestling match. Then Isles defenseman Johnny Boychuk dumped Capitals winger Joel Ward on his back and stood over him. But rather than blowing the whistle and calling coincidental roughing penalties — or holding, or interference — the officials allowed play to continue. And with the four combatants taking themselves out of the play, the opportunistic Tavares skated through the open ice into the Washington zone, where he was confronted by Ovechkin and defenseman Karl Alzner.
Boom!
Tavares was crushed along the boards to Holtby’s right (see photo above). For a split-second, I thought the Islanders’ captain, star and leading scorer had been knocked out cold. Amid the chaos, Ovechkin spun around in a circle looking for the puck as Tavares lay face-down on the ice.
But again, play was allowed to continue. And suddenly there was Nick Leddy, alertly retrieving the puck along the wall and centering it to a wide-open Kulemin, who made a move and slipped a forehand behind Holtby for the lead. Tavares returned to his feet slowly, but he stayed in the game (One of my worries heading into Game 7 is that he might have a concussion).
The Islanders have had so much working against them in this series. Three of their top six defensemen are out with injuries, so they chose to dress rarely used Matt Donovan and minor-league call-up Scott Mayfield for today’s elimination game. Washington has scored three times after an Islander had broken his stick; the first two goals helped the Caps win Game 2, and the third was an overtime winner in Game 4. And Game 4 might have been settled in regulation if Cal Clutterbuck’s shot had not clanged off the crossbar with the score tied in the third period, or the referees had decided to enforce the rules instead of making it easier for the Capitals to throw their weight around with impunity.
In this game, too, Mikhail Grabovski, whose return has injected some speed into the Islanders’ attack, fired a shot that Holtby bobbled and allowed to fall behind him. But instead of trickling into the net, the slow-moving puck went just wide of the post.
But with 5:33 remaining, the Isles clinging to a 2-1 lead and every minute off the clock feeling more like an hour — finally, some puck luck! As the Capitals were buzzing around the net, Jay Beagle lifted a shot that a prone Jaroslav Halak barely touched. The puck flew over him — but it hit the crossbar. The officials’ call stood after a replay review, and the Coliseum crowd erupted with glee as the final decision was announced.
That glee turned to relief and exultation when Clutterbuck scored into an empty net with 53 seconds remaining. The Islanders’ fourth line of Casey Cizikas between Clutterbuck and Matt Martin had set the tone all game long, hitting Capitals at every opportunity. It was fitting that one of them should score the clincher.
Now both teams are one loss away from elimination. Washington is 3-9 all-time in Game 7s, and has lost four of its last five. One of those defeats came in 2010 against the Canadiens, whose goalie stopped 41 shots as underdog Montreal upset the Presidents’ Trophy-winning Caps 2-1. The name of that goalie? Jaroslav Halak, who with today’s win is now 6-1 in elimination games in his career.
If those historical trends continue, this will not be the final game ever played at the Old Barn before the Islanders move to Brooklyn next season.
“It was great to win in this building,” Martin said. “We don’t want it to be the last one.
“It’s been home to me my whole NHL career. It’s the best atmosphere to play in. They don’t really make them like this anymore.”
Question for Game 7: Will the Islanders’ power play, now 0 for 13 in the series, finally solve the riddle of the Capitals’ penalty-killing unit?
Question for beyond Game 7: Perhaps the biggest beneficiaries of all this pounding will be the Rangers, who closed out their series Friday night and can now rest while the Isles and Caps knock the snot out of each other. Will the winner of this series have anything left for Game 1 at Madison Square Garden?
Filed April 25, 2015
Sources: NBC Sports, MSG Network, NHL.com
