UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Matt Martin stood in front of his locker, the bridge of his nose black and blue with a fresh red wound peeking out from under an Islanders cap—“It happened a few games ago,” he said. “It just keeps reopening. My nose can’t get a break these days…no pun intended.”
In a series that has been one violent collision after another, Martin and his fourth line have been the ones initiating most of the contact. He didn’t score the season-saving, game-winning, third-period goal in the Islanders’ 3-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoon—that was Nikolai Kulemin—but years from now, when Nassau Coliseum becomes a footnote in NHL lore, fans in attendance will recall the breakneck, car-wreck style that defined and changed Game 6 more than the goal itself.