Caps Need Game 4 Win to Stay Alive

August 18 at New York Islanders at Scotiabank Arena, Toronto

Time: 8 p.m.

TV: NBCSW

Radio:Capitals Radio 24/7, 94.7 FM The Drive

Washington Capitals

New York Islanders

Game 4, Eastern Conference Quarterfinal Series, Islanders lead 3-0

It's not at all how the Capitals envisioned things playing out when they headed to Toronto late last month, but here we are. Less than a week ago, the Caps were two minutes away from taking a two-goal lead into the third period of Game 1 of their series with the New York Islanders. That was last Wednesday. On Tuesday night in Toronto, the Caps need a win over the Isles to stay alive in the 2020 Stanley Cup Playoffs.

Excluding an empty-net goal against at the end of Game 2, the Caps have surrendered a total of 10 goals against in this series, but most of them were scored in two separate bunches. From late in the penultimate minute of the second period of Game 1 to just past the midpoint of the third, Washington was dented for four goals against in a span of just under 13 minutes, resulting in a 4-2 loss after that aforementioned two-goal lead in the series opener.

Two nights later, Washington forged a 1-0 first-period lead, but lost it - and the game - when it yielded three goals in a stretch of less than four minutes in the front half of the middle frame.

For a team with Washington's experience level and pedigree, those two big inning meltdowns were uncharacteristic, and they've proven to be costly. The Caps limited the Islanders to just one goal in 60 minutes of regulation hockey in Game 3, but Washington managed to scratch out only one strike out its own, a second-period power-play goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov.

Aside from those two extremely damning stretches of playoff hockey, the Caps have been subpar in the offensive zone, and they haven't played well enough for long enough in this series to be any better off than they are. Full marks must go to the Islanders, too. They've played precisely to their identity and they've gotten contributions straight up and down their lineup.

"The first thing is, I have to give credit to the Islanders," says Caps coach Todd Reirden. "They've done a good job; they deserve to be ahead 3-0 in this series. That's where we're at, and now it's all about the next day, the next game, the next play - and taking it shift-by-shift and creating that belief that I started to see a little bit of at the end of Game 3 as we moved along. It's up to us to build on those thoughts and some of the things that we were doing, and try to continue to focus on them and get over that hump of getting some momentum going our way."

Many of the Caps' wounds have been self-inflicted. Needing a win in Game 3 and needing to generate some offense at 5-on-5, they promptly took three penalties in the first and spent six of the game's first 20 minutes shorthanded. That spate of penalties blunted their chances at establishing any real sense of rhythm, continuity or momentum.

The Caps still haven't gotten to the extra level or gear they all believe they have, and their time to do so is running out.

"It's a good question," says Caps center Lars Eller, asked why it's been so difficult for the team to reach that collective level. "I could come up with several excuses. Some players are playing hurt, and we missed players for certain games and stuff like that. But even so, we have a group that's strong enough to - I think - overcome those challenges, and we have in the past.

"I know how good our team is from seeing it earlier in the season. I know how good we can play, and I still think we haven't seen that quality of play that I know we have within the room to the full extent. Last game, I think we played well enough to win. I think we were right there; it could have gone either way. But we were on the wrong side of it."

"It's about creating the belief," says Reirden. "It's about creating the belief and having the belief in the guy next to you as a teammate, and as an overall group, knowing that everybody is doing all that they can to help us get that one win, and then taking it day-by-day moving forward from there. I think that's the key for us, is to have that belief that it can be done. And it starts [Tuesday]."

New York is no stranger to this situation. As significant underdogs in their first-round series with Pittsburgh in the 2019 Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Islanders swept the Penguins aside in four games. Just over a year later, they're poised to do the same to the Capitals. But they know they still need one more win to move on to the Eastern semifinals for a second straight year, a feat they haven't achieved in more than three decades, since 1987 and '88.

"There's no tougher game than a game to clinch a series," says Isles captain Anders Lee. "It's going to be no different in Game 4 here, it's going to be a tough, tough game. We played a good one [Sunday] and were able to come out on top, but we've still got a lot of work to do to make this thing right."

Sunday's Game 3 marked the first time in the series that the Isles were able to get on the board first, and it was also the best start New York has had in three games in the series.

"That was definitely a point of emphasis for us going into the game," says Isles defenseman Adam Pelech, who set up the first goal of the game with a sublime feed to Lee. "We wanted to get off to a good start, especially because we didn't get off to the greatest start in Games 1 and 2. But I think we had a great first period. We defended hard, and later in the game [goaltender Semyon Varlamov] bailed us out a few times. He played a great game and he's been great for us."

Eleven years ago, Varlamov was a 20-year-old getting his Stanley Cup Playoff baptism in the Capitals' crease. Now he's within a game of backstopping the Islanders to the second round in his first playoff action in six years.

Heading into Monday's playoff action, Varlamov's six playoff wins were tops among all goaltenders in the postseason. Varlamov's 1.71 GAA is fourth among playoff netminders with two or more starts, and his .932 save pct. ranks seventh.