WASHINGTON — If the Islanders were going to play again at Nassau Coliseum, it was going to take a Game 7 win over the Capitals on Monday night.
Instead, their season — and time at the Coliseum — ended with a 2-1 loss at Verizon Center in the first round of the playoffs.
Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the game-winner 12:42 into the third when he collected the puck near the boards and carried it nearly all the way across the ice, leaving Jaroslav Halak sprawled out in desperation and Johnny Boychuk diving helplessly to stop Kuznetsov’s shot.
And while that play put the Capitals up by a goal, there was a sense of inevitability to the outcome, with the Isles apparently leaving their offense back on Long Island, with just seven shots through the first two periods.