WASHINGTON, DC – Jason Chimera’s goal with 12:23 left in the third period capped off a rally from a 3-1 second period deficit. It gave the Washington Capitals a 4-3 victory in Game 2 of their Eastern Conference first round series against the New York Islanders on Friday night at the Verizon Center in Washington.
Chimera scored off a rebound of his own shot from the right circle. Nick Leddy had 
committed a turnover trying to clear the puck straight up the middle of their defensive zone from behind the net. Matt Niskanen intercepted it at the blue line and fed Chimera for his two shots at Jaroslav Halak.
Nicklas Backstrom tied the game earlier in the third period with 16:16 left. Backstrom collected a feed from John Carlson at center ice and walked into the slot unchallenged in the middle of four Islanders while they were changing their penalty killers. Backstrom’s wrister beat Halak top shelf. Ryan Strome’s slashing penalty was the only power play opportunity the Capitals’ No. 1-ranked unit had against the Islanders penalty kill.
Alex Ovechkin began the comeback with his first goal and point of the postseason at 16:09 of the second period. The Capitals worked the puck around the offensive zone before Backstrom laid off to Niskanen for a shot from the right circle. With Joel Ward occupying Halak in the crease, Ovechkin pounced on the rebound. It was essentially a power play for the Capitals since Kyle Okposo had broken his stick and couldn’t get off the ice.
“The biggest difference between the first night and tonight is that we really felt like we were getting to them. We were getting them on the forecheck, we were hitting their D [defense], we were making their lives difficult, and that’s what it takes in the playoffs. We didn’t score right away, we weren’t up right away, we just had to keep pounding the rock and staying on them, and it pays off in the long run,” said Washington forward Tom Wilson.
Cal Clutterbuck opened the scoring at 5:14 of the first period by beating Philipp Grubauer high to the glove side with a snapper from the left circle. The Islanders fourth line caught Mike Green up ice, leading to a 2-on-1 with Clutterbuck and Casey Cizikas coming up ice against Tim Gleason. Clutterbuck kept it himself the entire way down the left wing before shooting.
Ryan Strome extended the Islanders lead to 2-0 at 3:24 of the second period when he beat Grubauer with a one-timer from the high slot off a feed from John Tavares.
Alex Ovechkin scored first goal of series in win over Isles – file photo by Lewis Bleiman
Karl Alzner got the Capitals on the board when he beat Halak short side at 11:26 of the second period. Much like on the goal Ovechkin would score later in the game, the Capitals had a man advantage at even strength because Matt Martin had broken his stick.
“It’s tough. It’s hard to be that player without a stick. You kind of feel useless in a way, because you can’t get out there and make them make a mistake or get on them quick, so it’s obviously tough, but you’ve got to try and make due with the situation,” said Leddy.
Okposo silenced the Verizon Center crowd and restored the Islanders’ two-goal lead at 14:09 of the second period by taking a cross-ice feed from Josh Bailey and scoring from the right circle.
Despite the two-goal leads the Islanders held, there was a sense that they couldn’t hold on much longer because the Capitals held a vast superiority in puck possession, and the Capitals’ limited number of shots on target was masked by the Islanders’ efforts in blocking and smothering them (including 15 in the first period alone).
“We said to each to stick with the game plan. I think we played a lot better today overall, 60 minutes. Tough start, down two-nothing, but we stuck with it and kept working, and in the second period we got some energy from the goal from Karl [Alzner]. A little unlucky with the third one, but I thought we had the momentum in the second. It’s a good thing to never give up. A lot of the guys on this team have good character and never give up. And this is how you battle back. We needed this,” said Backstrom.
“I thought the first half of the game we were pretty good. I thought we did a good job. You know they’re going to come hard; they’re at home feeding off the energy of the crowd. I thought we had some good legs. We did some good things to generate some chances and we scored [on] some chances, so we get a 3-1 lead and I thought we got a little less aggressive. Not moving our feet as much. We could have been a little bit harder on the forecheck. We’ve got to do a better job when we have the puck at times, especially in our own end. The second half of that game wasn’t our best,” said Tavares.
Grubauer was called up from AHL affiliate Hershey to make the start for the Capitals in place of an ill Braden Holtby. Grubauer made 18 saves on 21 shots. “I just liked his demeanor. I can’t put myself in those shoes. That is the great trait of a goalie. You are not so overwhelmed by the moment or the situation. That is what I liked about Philipp is that he just came in and played and did a good job,” said Washington head coach Barry Trotz.
Halak made 31 saves on 35 shots for the Islanders.
The series is now tied at 1-1 after two games in Washington and will now head to Nassau Coliseum for Games 3 and 4. “We’re excited about going home. We know what our building will be like. Our fans have been tremendous all year. It’s a tight series, and we want to take advantage of being at home now,” said Tavares.
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