The nine-game win streak and the twelve-game point streak had to end at some point. But you would have liked to see a little more fight as they went down.
The Islanders played spectacularly in the first period, doing everything but scoring a goal. They lacked the same jump in the second period, though. Once the Capitals took the lead, they clamped down on the Islanders in Trotzian fashion, giving up only seven Isles shots over the final two periods to take away from the Isles first place in the East Division.
The Islanders really needed to penetrate the zone more, but they had almost no forecheck in the second and third periods.