Backstrom’s goal ties series
Score 11:09 into OT sends series back to Washington even
UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Four times the Washington Capitals and New York Islanders had met on Nassau Coliseum ice during the regular season and playoffs, and each time three periods was not enough to determine a winner. Yet again they needed overtime.
On Tuesday night, the Capitals had already handled three penalties within 5 minutes, 12 seconds, another round of target practice aimed at goaltender Braden Holtby and a skate blade slicing the cheek of their top-pair defenseman, and now the complexion of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals — and really, their season — came down to their ability to cope.
The miracle arrived 11:09 into the extra period, when center Nicklas Backstrom spun and flung the puck into traffic. The shot hissed past goaltender Jaroslav Halak, silencing the crowd and sending the Capitals to a wild 2-1 victory. Instead of facing the grim reality of being one loss away from elimination, they rocketed themselves home with a badly needed victory, evening the Eastern Conference Quarterfinals at two games apiece.
The Capitals survived another furious start by the Islanders, who knifed through the slot for timed deflections, bombed pucks from deep and, on one occasion, flipped a long Washington offensive-zone shift into an odd-man rush, finished by a slapshot that went off the right post. But like in Game 3, when the Capitals needed more than 11 minutes before scrounging one shot on goal, the score remained tied amid all the chaos, even after Alex Ovechkin tripped forward Nikolay Kulemin along the glass and handed the Islanders an early power play.
Forty-five seconds after Ovechkin broke from the penalty box, Backstrom won an offensive-zone faceoff and ushered the puck behind him to
Game 5
TV: defenseman John Carlson. Carlson danced into the middle and cranked a shot toward traffic, where Ovechkin and forward Joel Ward had stationed themselves in a line, members of the only trio coach Barry Trotz hadn’t tweaked from Game 3.
The puck reached Ovechkin first, so he reached his stick across his body and flicked it in stride. Ovechkin whipped around and bolted up the ice, celebrating just his third goal in his past 13 road playoff games.
Battling for a loose puck in the crease right before intermission, Carlson lost his balance and tumbled backward, swinging his legs up as defenseman Brooks Orpik arrived. As Orpik, too, stumbled, Carlson’s skate sliced his cheek. Orpik bolted off the ice but got stitched up and returned for the second period.
Then, with the clock winding down, the Islanders’ powerful fourth line capitalized on an ill-timed change from the Capitals. Forward Cal Clutterbuck cut into the slot and hammered an initial shot that Holtby saved, but center Casey Cizikas arrived in time and punched back the rebound. Less than 13 seconds remained before the period ended and the Islanders had found their equalizer.
Kneeing and charging minors from forward Tom Wilson and defenseman Mike Green’s delay of game sent the Capitals through a briar patch of penalties during the second period, but they emerged unscratched, finally returning to even strength around the midway point. The pace turned breakneck from there, marked by more glass-rattling hits, shifts bordering on two minutes in length and, with every Islanders’ scoring chance, a roar and a gasp from the crowd. Still, the tie never broke and the 1-1 score held up entering the second intermission.
The Capitals finally earned their first power play 6 minutes, 40 seconds into the third period when forward Anders Lee held forward Jay Beagle, and both sides almost took the lead during Washington’s man advantage. First, Ovechkin deked a slap shot and instead centered the puck to forward Marcus Johansson, but the puck hopped up right as Johansson jabbed his stick forward, and Halak smothered it at the goal line. Then, after defenseman Brian Strait’s diving, one-handed clear, Clutterbuck struck the crossbar, raising his hands in triumph before noticing the puck had scooted away.