In Toronto, the New York Islanders spotted the Washington Capitals a 2-0 lead and then clamped down and scored four straight goals in a 4-2 win in Game 1 of their series on Wednesday afternoon.
Josh Bailey potted the game-winner in the third period after TJ Oshie had scored twice in the middle frame.
“I thought we just stuck to it,” Bailey said. “They’ve got a really good team. They’ve got a good power play, they found a way to score a couple. We just wanted to keep working, I think that’s playoff hockey. You can’t get down in those moments, you’ve just got to keep pressing. Tonight, we found a way.”
Semyon Varlamov made 24 saves. in the win.
“I think we have an experienced enough group to know that one game doesn’t make a series,” Oshie said. “It’s how you respond to it, it’s how you do the little things, learn from the game that you just played and find ways to play them better. I think to push forward from a game like today is one that I want to make sure that I have my best game come next game and as a group, I think individually, if we all expect more of ourselves, then that’s how we’ve won in the past and that’s how we’re going to do it again. First game in the series doesn’t say much about how it’s going to go. It’s how you respond from here on out.”
Jordan Eberle, Anders Lee and Anthony Beauvillier were the toher Isles’ strikers.
“We knew how the game was going, we knew we felt good and we were generating chances and they just hadn’t gone in at that point,” Lee said. “Going into the third, it was that same mentality — keep putting the foot on the gas and keep getting pucks to the net. All the things you talk about all the time, but I think just as a group, we all settled in and played a really smart period.”
[WATCH:All Islanders vs. Capitals highlights]
Braden Holtby made 23 saves in the loss.
“First, the first goal obviously can’t go in,” Holtby said. “I haven’t seen a replay of it yet, can’t really tell you too much. I just know it’s a bad goal in a bad part of the game. That’s on me. That changes the momentum of the game right there. That’s just something that you move on with. You realize the importance of the little things and you strive to do them better next time.”
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