"It's nice to get the first one out of the way," Lee said. "We played a pretty decent game tonight, but we put ourselves in trouble with penalties, but it's preseason and we'll learn from our mistakes."
Stephenson opened the scoring for the Capitals, tipping Nate Schmidt's wrister past JF Berube for a power-play goal at 13:54. The Islanders had their chances in the first period, but reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby kept the Isles at bay. Islanders 2015 first-round pick Anthony Beauvillier had one of the Islanders chances right off the bat, but stealing a puck off Schmidt and shooting 10 seconds in.
The 1-0 score stayed the same through the second period. The Islanders got on the board 3:50 into the third period, with Lee corralling a Ryan Pulock rebound and chipping it over a sprawling Holtby, but the tie game did not last. The Islanders steady parade to the penalty box cost them again in the third period, as Lars Eller beat Berube with a one-timer from the right side at 10:34. A penalty shortly after hampered the comeback attempt.
The Islanders play three preseason games in three days starting Monday night against the New Jersey Devils at Barclays Center. On Tuesday the Islanders host the New York Rangers and visit the Devils on Wednesday.
