The Islanders are starting with a trend to kick back after a loss to advance in the playoffs.
With a 4-0 victory over the Capitals on Thursday night in Toronto, the Islanders claimed a place in the second round of the Stanley Cup playoffs for the second year in a row behind a few goals from Anthony Beauvillier. If the Flyers eliminate the Canadiens on Friday, the Islanders will face Philadelphia in the second round. When Montreal completes its rally to win the series, the Islanders draw the Bruins.
Beauvillier’s two-goal winning streak was his second in a row this season in a potential series clinching game, reflecting his two tallies in the Game 4 victory over the Panthers in qualifying. The left winger has six goals in these playoffs. He joins Bobby Nystrom and Mike Bossy as the only Islanders to score twice multiple times in potential series clinch games in a single postseason.
The Islanders built a 2-0 lead on Beauvillier’s goals through the first two periods, scoring their first power-play goal since Game 2. By taking the smallest amount of penalties they have all series, made the Islanders count their most disciplined game.
After five straight games with the same lineup, the Islanders were forced to make some adjustments because Cal Clutterbuck was unfairly ruled out prior to Game 5. Derick Brassard was scrapped, while Michael Dal Colle and Ross Johnston, who made his NHL playoff debut made in the profit, were inserted in the lineup.
Capitals star Nicklas Backstrom returned to the lineup for the first time since Game 1, when a hit from Anders Lee sent him into a hearing protocol. Backstrom made his presence felt with some pressure on the net, but the Islanders refused to miss a second chance to exclude the capitals.
Semyon Varlamov saved all 21 shots he faced.
A little less than halfway through the first peirod, Varlamov was forced to make back-to-back saves on Richard Panik at the door. Center D fourth-line capital Nic Dowd was then called up at 10:02 to hook Casey Cizikas. Seconds into the power play, Beauvillier struck a loose puck at home for the 1-0 score.
Forty seconds later, the Islanders were wrongly called for too many men on the ice penalty which led to a dangerous chance from Jakub Vrana, but Varlamov made the save. The Islanders returned to power play at 14:12 after Lars Eller added Mat Barzal, but their second man advantage was not as effective as they placed just one shot.
At 9:33 of the second period, Beauvillier picked up a feed from Bailey and crashed the shrink before passing a backhander past Braden Holtby to lift the Islanders 2-0.
A little over a minute into the third, Varlamov robbed Backstrom with a glove save to keep the capitals off the board. Nick Leddy and Josh Bailey both scored low net goals to exclude the game.
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