TORONTO (AP) — Long after Brock Nelson scored on a breakaway to restore the New York Islanders‘ lead, he and his teammates hemmed the Washington Capitals in their zone for a long shift that can wear an opponent down.
Then Cal Clutterbuck tipped Jean-Gabriel Pageau’s shot past Braden Holtby to break the Capitals’ will. It was the kind of sequence that coach Barry Trotz beamed at and was on display two years ago when he led Washington to the Stanley Cup.
Trotz is on the other side now, and his Islanders beat the Capitals 5-2 Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series.