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Islanders News: Round 1 to Washington

Though it took a gimmicky skills competition.

By Steven E. Smith
Washington Capitals v New York Islanders
Extremely tight playoff-style game last night.
Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images

The New York Islanders dropped to the Washington Capitals a shootout that followed two shutouts. Both teams played well in stretches but neither scored. It felt like a playoff preview.

In winning, the Capitals moved into first in the East Division with 64 points. The Islanders and Pittsburgh Penguins each have 63 points, but Pittsburgh holds the tiebreaker in regulation wins, nudging them into second and the Isles into third. The Boston Bruins sit right behind everyone at 60 points with two games in hand on the three teams in front of them.

The Isles and Caps will do it again tomorrow night.

Islanders News

Recaps from last night: LHH | Isles 5 Takeaways | Newsday | NHL | NYI Skinny

  • Barry Trotz thought the Islanders played pretty well against a good team, especially their penalty-killers.
  • Trotz made the tough call to healthy-scratch Travis Zajac to insert Cal Clutterbuck. [Newsday]
  • Heineken signed a deal with UBS Arena to be its exclusive beer and hard seltzer partner. I did not even know that Heineken made hard seltzer. [Islanders]
  • Speaking of UBS Arena, it is 75% complete and set for a big push to have it 100% complete by November. The Isles will likely open 2021-22 on a long road trip. [Newsday]

Elsewhere

Last night’s NHL scores include the Penguins beating up on the New Jersey Devils and the Bruins doing the same to the Buffalo Sabres. Also, the Philadelphia Flyers extinguished the last flame of the New York Rangers’ playoff hopes by defeating them in regulation.

  • Nick Foligno made a lasting impression in his first game with the Toronto Maple Leafs. [Sportsnet]
  • A one-sentence summation of every team’s season in this Power Ranking. The Isles’ sentence is what you may expect from Sportsnet: a backhanded compliment.
  • The Minnesota Wild gave Ryan Hartman a three-year extension. [ESPN]
  • Some notable RFAs this summer, including Cale Makar and Brady Tkachuk. The Isles’ trio makes the list of “other notables.” [Sportsnet]
  • Milan Lucic credits his support network with helping him heal after his father’s passing. [Sportsnet]

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