{"id":83654,"date":"2020-08-22T10:08:39","date_gmt":"2020-08-22T14:08:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonhockey.com\/?p=83654"},"modified":"2020-08-22T06:41:42","modified_gmt":"2020-08-22T10:41:42","slug":"new-york-islanders-vs-washington-capitals","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/hockey\/2020\/08\/22\/new-york-islanders-vs-washington-capitals\/","title":{"rendered":"New York Islanders vs Washington Capitals: Islanders Dominate on All Ends"},"content":{"rendered":"

The <\/span>New York Islanders<\/span><\/a> defeated the <\/span>Washington Capitals<\/span><\/a> 4-0 in Game 5 of round one of the Stanley Cup playoffs. New York triumphed over Washington in all parts of the game. For the second year in a row, the Caps were eliminated in the round one of the playoffs.<\/span> In Game 5, much of the Isles success came from <\/span>Anthony Beauvillier<\/b><\/a>, who scored two goals. This marked his second two-goal performance. Currently, he is in a three-way tie in the league for most goals in the post-season with six. Moreover, with Beauvillier and a powerful defence and goaltender, the Islanders quickly dismantled the Caps, even with the addition of <\/span>Nicklas Backstrom<\/b><\/a>. While this game was a predicted Washington win, The New York Islanders vs Washington Capitals matchup presented a disciplined New York that powered through and shutout the 2018 Stanley Cup winners.<\/span><\/p>\n

New York Islanders vs Washington Capitals Matchup Pushes Washington out of the Playoffs.<\/h2>\n

Young Offence Shines<\/h3>\n

In Game 3, it was <\/span>Mathew Barzal<\/b><\/a>\u2019s time to shine. The 23-year-old clinched the win with a goal almost five minutes into overtime. Throughout the course of the playoffs, he has performed extremely well, scoring three goals over the course of the five games. However, it was his overtime goal that will define him during this series. Barzal cheated the line and Jordan Eberle<\/b><\/a> passed him the puck<\/span>. <\/span>Braden Holtby<\/b><\/a> prepared for Barzal by coming across the crease, but the young centre sunk the goal with a deke.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

While Barzal continued to shine throughout the remainder of the series, Beauvillier and his line were unstoppable in Game 5. The Islanders built a 2-0 lead due to Beauvillier\u2019s goals in the first two periods. One of these goals was the first New York power play goal since Game 2. Before Beauvillier\u2019s goal, the Islanders possessed the second-worst efficiency on the man advantage at 5.3 percent. In the first four games, New York had a single power play goal in 19 attempts.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The Isles struggled on power play goals throughout the entire series, and this goal was a good reminder that they are capable of scoring on a power play. However, if the Islanders want to make it to round three of the playoffs, they will need to start scoring more on the power play. Game 5 was a more effective Islanders squad \u2014 scoring its first goal on a power play in three games and tallying its fewest penalties of the season. This might be a precursor of a more disciplined Islanders that will score more in upcoming games, but that has yet to be seen.<\/span><\/p>\n

Inconsistency from Ovechkin<\/h3>\n

This was supposed to be <\/span>Alex Ovechkin<\/b><\/a>\u2019s series. Washington\u2019s captain was on track for yet another 50-goal season before the COVID-19 pandemic hit. When he returned to the ice for the Eastern Conference round robin, his play could not compare to how he performed earlier in the season. Ovechkin looked sleepy and did not take many chances, and those he did often never came to fruition.<\/span><\/p>\n

Coming into round one, it was still unknown how he would compete. The five games of this series brought out an inconsistent Ovechkin that had not been seen from the 34-year-old.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Game 2 saw Ovechkin miss a power play opportunity caused by a mistake from goaltender <\/span>Braden Holtby<\/b><\/a>. Holtby passed the puck to Ovechkin without noticing <\/span>Brock Nelson<\/b><\/a> giving him heat off the forecheck. Nelson swiped the puck and fed it to <\/span>Josh Bailey. <\/b><\/a>In speaking about the poorly executed power play attempt, Ovechkin simply responded \u201cShit happens.\u201d Game 3 was a similar story as the Islanders held Ovechkin to just a single shot, which was unsuccessful.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

This is not to say that Ovechkin had a bad performance throughout the series because he didn\u2019t. However, the lack of stability from him was out of the norm. The Islanders blanked Ovechkin in three of the five games. For a player of his caliber, this should not be the case. Perhaps it was the lack of Backstrom and the overall lack of depth from the Capitals, but Ovechkin \u2014 especially in the earlier games \u2014 was unable to make the matchups competitive.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

With the possibility of a sweep looming, Ovechkin took control in Game 4 . He scored two goals, to rally back from a two-goal deficit and capture the win. This win marked only the third time in franchise history that the Caps overcame a multi-goal deficit to clinch the win in a series where they faced elimination.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Ovechkin\u2019s first goal was the early go-ahead in the third period while his second was caused by a perfectly executed break up of a 3-on-2 break from <\/span>Nick Jensen.<\/b> <\/a>After his performance in Game 4, Ovechkin now sits at No. 18 in NHL history in postseason goals.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

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Alex Ovechkin gets a second goal for the @Capitals<\/a> to move past Gordie Howe and Sidney Crosby (both w\/ 68) for sole possession of 18th place on the League\u2019s all-time list. #NHLStats<\/a> #StanleyCup<\/a> https:\/\/t.co\/GzJZ2M12zL<\/a><\/p>\n

— NHL Public Relations (@NHLPR) August 19, 2020<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n