The New York Islanders look to take control of this best of seven game series tonight as they can go up three games to one on the Washington Capitals. The Isles are coming off a thrilling 2-1 overtime win against the Caps in Game Three as John Tavares scored 14 seconds into OT on Sunday afternoon. By no means is this series over though. The Capitals withstood an Isles onslaught and were able to carry play in the third period, forcing overtime.
Braden Holtby was simply outstanding in Game Three and if it wasn’t for his performance in goal, the Isles easily could have led by three or four goals after the first two periods. If Holtby continues this type of performance this may be a long series. The Caps are a good team and they aren’t going to roll over.
If the Isles want to win tonight they need to come out flying again. New York needs to continue to get pucks and bodies to the net as anything can happen. John Tavares scored the OT winner by doing just that and bad communication by the Capitals led to the captain scoring off an innocent looking play.
The Islanders lineup will remain the same tonight. Jaroslav Halak will be in goal again and look for the lines and defensive pairings to remain the same. I had heard some rumblings that injured New York dman Travis Hamonic could return by game six, but Hamonic is not skating or practicing with the team as of yet. If he is not on the ice, it leads me to believe that he will not be available to return this series.
Through three games so far this has been a series of matchups and styles. When the caps are going well they are crashing the boards and taking advantage of the Isles smaller defenseman. When the Islanders are controlling play they are punishing the Capitals with a tenacious forecheck and forcing turnovers and mistakes. The Isles fourth line has simply been amazing and they are definitely a game changer.
I would still like to see more from the top line. When Alex Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom are on the ice they have been a consistent threat to score and are creating chances. I need to see more of that from the John Tavares line. They need more possession and more time in the Capitals zone. I don’t think that the line has been awful, I just want to see some dominant shifts.
We all know what this game means tonight. If the Caps win, we head back to D.C. with a best of three series on our hands. If the Isles win, they take control of the series and all the Capitals’ pundits and critics will start to pen their demise. Tonight is not the end all be all of the series. I get that. However, the Isles have an opportunity to seize this series and move one step closer to that elusive second round. As always for more on all things hockey please follow me on twitter at @DanDanNoodles78.