Isles PK Picking Up

The Islanders made it clear heading into their First Round series against the Washington Capitals, that one of their strategies was to avoid putting the Caps on the power play. That went out the window almost immediately as the Metro Division rivals renewed hostilities.

Within the first five minutes of the game, the physical tone - and tight-calling nature - was evident. Five penalties alone were administered in that span and by the final buzzer - signaling the Islanders' 4-2 victory - there were a combined total of 40 penalty minutes.

The Isles finished the game going 5-for-7 on the kill, while the Caps went down a man on four accounts.

While the Islanders unanimously, and in hindsight, emphasized the need for more discipline in their play as they return for Game 2, their penalty kill was vital in the Isles pulling out their comeback win, especially early.

"The first period - half of that period was pretty well a power play for them - I thought we were able to stabilize the game and get through that," Head Coach Barry Trotz said.

The Isles went 3-for-3 on the PK in the first period, leaning heavily on Adam Pelech, who logged 3:23 SH TOI in the period, Scott Mayfield (2:46), Cal Clutterbuck (2:33) and Casey Cizikas (2:33).

"That's not the start you want for a game, but for Cal and I that gets us into it right away," Cizikas said. You're involved, you're blocking shots and trying to do whatever you can to get that kill done."

The Caps scored a pair of power-play goals in the second period, but Trotz and co didn't see it as an indictment of his shorthanded unit. Evgeny Kuznetsov's centering feed took a whacky bounce off Pelech for the first goal, accouting for some bad luck.

"We had some big kills," Mayfield, who logged the second-most shorthanded TOI (6:23), said. "The goals they did get were fluky goals off the end wall and a diving play there in front. In the first period we killed three right away… You get momentum from that, but at the same time you give them more video, more stuff to look at it."

Despite T.J. Oshie depositing both power-play goals for the Caps, the Isles were content with how they limited the second-ranked offense during the regular season from any noteworthy five-on-five threats.

"I thought our PK did a pretty good job," Trotz continued. "[Washington's power play] gave us a lot of different looks which I knew they would and they had some chances. The majority of their chances they got yesterday was on the power play. We've just got to make sure we stay out of the box."

With a plethora of penalties taken between teams through the first two periods, the Isles admitted it was difficult to get into an offensive rhythm, but showed resilience and dug themselves out of a 2-0 deficit. Jordan Eberle put the Isles on the board with 1:03 remaining in the second period, while his linemate Anders Lee evened the score 2-2 just 51 seconds into the third period.

Seemingly riding a wave of momentum, the Isles PK was tasked with a pivotal challenge five minutes after Lee's goal, as the Caps received their seventh power play of the evening on a Leo Komarov high-stick.

The Isles penalty kill not only nullified Washington's man advantage, but retaliated shorthanded.

Brock Nelson forced a turnover in the Isles' defensive zone and flipped a dump-in into Washington's zone. As Caps' netminder Braden Holtby abandoned his crease to retrieve the puck, Nelson forced another turnover and connected with his linemate Josh Bailey, who was crashing in from the high slot. Bailey buried the feed and gave the Isles their go-ahead and eventual game-winning goal.

"Big shoutout to our PKers, they did a heck of a job," Mathew Barzal, who tallied two assists in the win, said. "That's a lethal [power play] over there and they did a heck of a job the entire night."

During this postseason, the Islanders PK has had their work cut out for them. Between their Qualifying Series against the Florida Panthers and now, the Caps, they've been burdened with going head-to-head against lethal power plays.

And despite the clutch sequence from the Isles penalty killers against the Caps, they demand better of themselves after going 2-for-7 against a unit with as many multifaceted threats as Washington's and hope to improve their total kill percentage which currently sits at 71.4% (15-for-21).

"Both series so far shows that five-on-five, we have had some good play," Mayfield said. "The penalty kill needs to step up, that's safe to say. That goes into us being disciplined and not putting ourselves down a man. I'm watching the other games and there's [been] a lot of penalties called. Everyone is trying to figure out that line that you can play on. That's part of playoffs. But five-on-five we have our structure and we have our game. It worked out well in the Florida series and it worked out well in Game 1.

"We've got to make sure we get those 200-foot clears and that stick battle in front when there is a loose puck," Mayfield continued. "[We] just have to tighten up the little things."