WASHINGTON, DC – Evgeny Kuznetsov scored two goals with an assist as the Washington Capitals returned from the second intermission and turned a tight game into a rout with three third period goals, winning Game 5 of their Eastern Conference first round series, 5-1. The Capitals took a 3-2 series lead with Game 6, the Islanders’ elimination and possibly the final game at Nassau Coliseum looming on Saturday afternoon. 
“It shouldn’t be [hard to get motivated], and if you can’t, you’re in the wrong profession and wearing the wrong sweater. We have great fans, been a great building all year. Worked together as one, and one common goal,” said New York head coach Jack Capuano.
The Islanders came into the game hellbent on revenge for the hit Tom Wilson put on Lubomir Visnovsky behind the Capitals net during the second period of Game 4 that knocked Visnovsky out of the series. Almost immediately upon taking the ice, Wilson was challenged to a fight by Anders Lee. Both Wilson and Lee served fighting majors.
Josh Bailey almost immediately put the Islanders on the board first 26 seconds after the fight at 5:48 of the first period. John Tavares worked the puck from the corner up the side boards, feeding Bailey in the left circle.
Kuznetsov tied the game at 9:05 of the first period. Kuznetsov won the faceoff in the left circle back to Karl Alzner at the point. Halak saved Alzner’s shot as well as Marcus Johansson’s rebound, but Kuznetsov swatted Johansson’s shot out of mid-air with a lefty baseball swing on the right side of the net.
“When I scored and I heard [how] loud it was in the stadium, I just felt crazy. I want to say [to the fans] thanks for coming to the game today. It’s [louder in our stadium] than it was at the Islanders [home] game. I hope we’ll see you in the next round,” said Kuznetsov.
Alzner’s go-ahead goal at 10:31 of the second period came after Jay Beagle knocked down Calvin de Haan’s attempted clearance. Troy Brouwer took a shot on Halak that was saved at the right post. Brouwer collected the rebound and went around the Islanders net before dishing it off to Alzner. Alzner stuffed it home.
Brooks Laich opened the third period scoring at 2:42, right after the Islanders had killed off a penalty on Halak for tripping Alex Ovechkin, which was served by Tavares. Johansson had won the puck deep and fed Jason Chimera for a shot that took a deflection off both Laich and Johansson, but Laich beat Halak top shelf on the rebound.
Kuznetsov broke in on the Islanders net alone after the Islanders failed to get the puck deep on a shift change. Kuznetsov beat Johnny Boychuk to the front of the Halak’s net and finished the goal going to his backhand at 6:19 of the third period.
“Kuzy [Kuznetsov] is growing. He’s gotten used to the league. The first 40 games it was little bit of a mishmash of up, down, and not knowing the league quite as well. Maybe not as comfortable in his role. Then you sort of get through there, and there’s always a glass ceiling for young players. I think he got through that and you’re seeing what he’s capable of, and he’s a terrific player,” said Washington head coach Barry Trotz.
Jason Chimera chased Jaroslav Halak to the showers with 11 minutes left in the game when he squeezed an innocent-looking shot from the left circle through both Kyle Okposo and Halak at the near post.
“No, I’m not disappointed with the guys. I mean they battled. We talk about it all the time, and it’s coming back to haunt us now. You have to manage the puck. We’re right there in the game; it’s their building. Great crowd, great atmosphere to play in, and you cough the puck up. That the part of this game that teams can thrive off and feed off. They came back in transition on a couple of those goals, and that was it,” said Capuano.
Halak made 30 saves on 35 Capitals shots. Michal Neuvirth saved all six shots he faced in relief of Halak. Meanwhile, Braden Holtby made 22 saves on 23 shots for the Capitals.
The Islanders went 0-for-2 on the power play, making them 0-for-12 for the series.
“We just have to take it one game at a time. Even if you know [that you can win the series next game], you’ve got to treat it like a normal game. I think that we played alright tonight, but we can play better. As the series has been going on, I feel like we’ve been playing better and better,” said Washington center Nicklas Backstrom.
“We’re going to have to throw everything at [Washington] with our fans behind us and cheering loudly. It’ll be a fun game…[We] just have to limit turnovers and get pucks deep when we have the chance to,” said Boychuk.
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