Evgeny Kuznetsov celebrates his series clinching goal with Brooks Orpik as the Caps eliminated the Islanders 2-1.
AP Photo by Alex Brandon/Getty Images

There won’t be a Islanders/Rangers series in the second round. Instead, it’ll be the Capitals who eliminated the Islanders in seven games by posting a 2-1 win at Verizon Center. They’ll meet the Rangers in the Eastern Conference Semifinals with Game 1 likely Thursday.

It wasn’t Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom who did in the Islanders. Evgeny Kuznetsov was the standout scoring the series clincher with 7:18 left in regulation. The talented 22-year old Russian who also dominated the Islanders in Game 5 was the determining factor. His third goal of the series was a superb individual effort. Powering off the wall to escape Frans Nielsen, he moved in front and deked Jaroslav Halak slipping a forehand past the brilliant Islander starter.

There was nothing Halak could do. A question mark entering the series, he was utterly brilliant making 24 saves in a lopsided Game 7 to give his team a chance. That included stopping 20 of 21 shots in the first two periods dominated by Washington. They outshot the Isles 21-7. If not for Halak, it wouldn’t have been close. His best save came on Jay Beagle with the game tied when he robbed him with an amazing split recovering just in time.

Unfortunately, his teammates didn’t do enough to win the game. It’ll be a tough off season. Despite a valiant effort down three starting defensemen including Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Calvin de Haan, the proud franchise still hasn’t won a playoff series since 1993. Even with injuries to key players, they still took the Caps seven games.

Ultimately, they lost to a better team. Unlike the Isles, the Caps were healthy and benefited from their depth. After falling behind 2-1 in the series, they allowed six goals the final four games. Washington’s defense made a difference with former Pens Brooks Orpik and Matt Niskanen having a solid first round. Their secondary scorers also stepped up with Kuznetsov and Joel Ward scoring in tonight’s win. Beagle, Jason Chimera, Brooks Laich and Marcus Johansson were factors throughout.

Amazingly, the Islanders held Ovechkin to two goals. It didn’t matter. Even with top tandem Johnny Boychuk and Nick Leddy doing a stellar job while logging a ton of minutes, it wasn’t enough. Thomas Hickey and Brian Strait did an admirable job. Even Matt Donovan and Scott Mayfield gave a respectable account.

Offense was a problem in a do or die game. For two periods, the Islanders generated little. It was all Capitals with them controlling puck possession and pinning the Islanders deep. They spent extended shifts cycling effectively while pinching their D and making wholesale changes. One such shift allowed coach Barry Trotz to change on the fly and get his top line of Ovechkin, Backstrom and Ward out. Despite heavy pressure, they couldn’t beat Halak.

After outshooting the Isles 11-3 in the first period, the Caps continued to control the action. So bottled up were the Isles that following an icing, coach Jack Capuano used his timeout to rest his skaters. They responded better by clearing the puck and even getting some attack time. But it was temporary.

Eventually, the Caps’ top scoring unit pinned the Isles in again and finally got the game’s first goal with under two minutes left in the second. Forcing a turnover, Ovechkin got the puck out to Orpik for a point shot which Halak stopped. But Ward swatted away at it knocking the puck in for a 1-0 lead with 1:25 remaining in the period.

On the next shift, Mikhail Grabovski got a chance but missed. The Caps took a one-goal lead into the locker room. The Isles struggled mightily getting outshot 10-4. The only thing they did well was defend in front of Halak keeping most of Washington’s chances to the outside. That along with Halak’s play was why they only trailed by one.

If they were going to go down, they at least showed a pulse in the third. Able to forecheck early, Boychuk got a shot on Braden Holtby, who may as well have been on vacation till that point. Even though the Caps netminder only saw four shots due to his D, he at least had to work. He also was shaky.

The Islanders finally got to Holtby when Nielsen beat him five-hole tying the score at 3:13. Taking a Hickey feed, Nielsen carried the puck and skated between Caps defenders and got off a simple wrist shot that eluded Holtby. His first of the playoffs came from Hickey and Ryan Strome, who was pretty quiet after a good start to the series.

One of the issues for the Isles was they didn’t get enough secondary scoring. Something that wasn’t a problem during the season. Rookie Anders Lee struggled and sat out the final two games in favor of fourth liner Colin McDonald. A questionable move by Capuano given the circumstances. He also scratched Brock Nelson for Game 5. That wasn’t the only move that left you scratching your head.

Even though they were finally able to get attack time after Nielsen’s goal, the Isles just couldn’t get enough shots on Holtby, who fought the puck on a Boychuk long try. They totaled only 11 shots the entire game. In a do or die situation, that just won’t get it done. Whether it was the lack of experience or nerves, they weren’t good enough. But somehow, they were still tied.

That changed when Kuznetsov escaped Nielsen’s check along the boards and beat Halak with 7:18 left in regulation. On a strong cycle, the former Caps first round pick wheeled through the slot and had a sweet finish effectively ending the Isles’ season.

They responded to the goal by getting a sustained forecheck from John Tavares’ top line with Josh Bailey and Kyle Okposo. But on a night where the Islander captain was held without a shot, Bailey and Boychuk passed up golden opportunities to shoot. By the time Boychuk wound up, his shot was blocked and the Caps escaped.

Such chances in a tight checking game where the refs didn’t call a single penalty until the final few minutes were rare. If you’re down a goal in Game 7 and only have 11 shots, you better make them count. The Islanders weren’t aggressive enough and learned a valuable lesson. To quote Wayne Gretzky, “You miss 100 percent of the shots you don’t take.”

Perhaps the biggest Capuano second guess was his reluctance to pull Halak. Following a bad John Carlson roughing minor in the offensive zone, it handed the Isles one last chance to score on the power play. They were 0 for the series finishing 0-for-14. With two minutes left and unable to get set up time, Capuano easily could’ve sent Halak to the bench and gone for a 6-on-4. He didn’t and waited too long finally pulling Halak with 1:16 left.

By that point, it was too late. The Caps weren’t allowing anything to get through. They played air tight D smothering the Isles. About the only gripe they had was an uncalled Ovechkin boarding on Hickey with the Great 8 hitting the prone defenseman from behind leaving MSG’s Howie Rose and Butch Goring speechless. But as Capuano pointed out afterwards, their power play didn’t score once. Only one power play goal was scored by the Caps.

On one last attempt, Okposo centered in front but the Caps cleared and that was it. They celebrated with Kuznetsov and Ovechkin raising their arms in salute to their fans while Tavares lied on the ice despondent. That’s the difference between winning and losing. It was a very entertaining and physical series with both teams giving everything. In the end, the Caps were better and now advance to face the Rangers.

There won’t be an epic Battle Of New York. That’ll have to wait another year. So too will the Islanders who now will relocate to Brooklyn. They played their final home game at Nassau Coliseum Saturday defeating the Caps in an emotional Game 6 3-1. At least it was a win. It’s hard to believe that was their final game in their barn after 43 years on Long Island.

A sad way for them to go out. Especially in what was a good season. The Islanders had the great start and led the Metropolitan Division and the East at one point. But the second half told a different tale. Okposo missed significant time due to a torn retina. Luckily, he returned but wasn’t as productive. Tavares carried them into the playoffs tying the Caps with 101 points. But home ice went to Washington and they made it count.

For the Caps, it was an important win. Especially given their track record. They had the reputation of a team that doesn’t close out series. Now, they move on and will be a formidable challenge for the Rangers who at the start will be without top right wing Mats Zuccarello. It should be a good series. It just won’t measure up to Islanders/Rangers.

Johnny Boychuk battles Joel Ward in front of Jaroslav Halak.
AP Photo by Alex Brandon/Getty Images

BONY 3 Stars:

3rd Star-Joel Ward, Caps (1st of playoffs, assist-so overlooked)

2nd Star-Jaroslav Halak, Isles (24 saves-splendid in defeat)

1st Star-Evgeny Kuznetsov, Caps (series winner with 7:18 left in regulation-3rd goal-future star)

Quotable

”We were hungry, we wanted to get after it, and I think people doubted us a little bit,” Ward said. ”So we wanted to prove something to ourselves and to our fans.”-goalscorer Joel Ward

”It’s just hard to believe it’s really over. It was intense. It was physical. It was draining.”-Islanders captain John Tavares

”That’s the best I’ve seen us play. Start to finish, that’s the game we’ve been trying to groom all year.”-Braden Holtby

”If you’ve never played hockey, you’ll never feel this.”-series hero Evgeny Kuznetsov

”We needed to shoot a little more. Obviously you’re not going to score if you don’t shoot.”-Jaroslav Halak