The Washington Capitals were looking for a breakout game and in Game 5 they delivered.
At 5:22 into the game, Caps’ right winger Tom Wilson and Islanders’ center Anders Lee dropped the gloves and went at it.
“I wasn’t really wanting to fight that early,” Wilson said about the early scuffle with Lee. “I wanted to play a little hockey first but credit to him… he’s sticking up for his teammate.”
For the fourth time in five games in the series, New York scored first. The goal came from Islanders’ center Josh Bailey just 26 seconds after the Lee versus Wilson brawl.
As they have done for most of the series, Caps center Evgeny Kuznetsov tied the game at one with 10:55 remaining in the first period, batting a rebound out of mid air.
“When I scored and I heard how loud it got in the stadium, I just felt crazy,” Kuznetsov said following his two-goal night. “I just wanted to say thanks for all the vocal comments at the game. It was louder than the Islanders game.”
With 9:29 left in the second period, Capitals’ defenseman Karl Alzner put Washington up 2-1. The goal occurred because right winger Troy Brouwer was able to get a loose attempt of a cover-up of his shot by NY goalie Jaroslav Halak. He wrapped it around the net and found a streaking Alzner who blasted the puck past Halak.
After the second period, Washington was outshooting New York 28-16. This included the Caps outshooting the Islanders 18-8 in the second period.
Holding a 2-1 lead after two periods, Washington came out storming in the final period and put three goals on the board. The third period goals came from Caps center Brooks Laich, Kuznetsov (his second of the game) and left winger Jason Chimera.
“He’s on his way to becoming a very, very good player and he’s putting in performances like tonight in crucial games,” Washington goaltender Braden Holtby said about Kuznetsov. “He’s not going to back down. He wants to be a hero and that’s a great quality to have.”
“He did a great job handling the pressure and being our best guy out there,” Capitals left winger Alex Ovechkin said when speaking about Kuznetsov. “We need that type of performance from everybody.”
At times it was obvious that the Islanders were unraveling in the third period during the Capitals onslaught. In one such instance, NY center Casey Cizikas “slashed” Wilson in a place where a stick should never be. When Wilson crumpled to the ground in pain and tried to get up, Cizikas teammate and right winger Cal Clutterbuck skated up to number 43 and slashed him back down to the ice.
“It didn’t feel good,” Wilson said. “I don’t know what his stick is doing there. I don’t know. It’s tough because you never want to hit a guy there.”
For the first time by either team, the Islanders made a goalie change in the latter part of the final period.
One fact that usually goes underappreciated… Capitals’ center Nicklas Backstrom finished the night going 11 of 14 (79 percent) inside the faceoff circles.
“It was a pretty good game for the whole team,” Kuznetsov said. “I don’t have a lot to say about this moment because everyone knows where we are and who we are.”