Whichever way the Capitals want to play, the Islanders are proving better at it in their first-round series.
Their second straight win wasn’t the emotional physical battle of the opener. This time, the Islanders won a second-period run-and-gun segment, held the edge in the special teams battle and then just ground down the Capitals in the third period.
So, the Islanders are halfway to advancing after Friday night’s 5-2 win in Game 2 despite two goals from the Capitals’ Alex Ovechkin. But the Islanders went 1-for-5 on the power play while the Capitals, who were 2-for-7 in Game 1, were 0-for-2 in Game 2.