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Eyes On Isles

Islanders Dominant At Five-On-Five In Game 3

By Matt O'Leary

TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 16: Anders Lee #27 of the New York Islanders is congratulated by his teammate, Jordan Eberle #7 after scoring a goal at 14:50 against the Washington Capitals during the first period in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 16, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
TORONTO, ONTARIO - AUGUST 16: Anders Lee #27 of the New York Islanders is congratulated by his teammate, Jordan Eberle #7 after scoring a goal at 14:50 against the Washington Capitals during the first period in Game Three of the Eastern Conference First Round during the 2020 NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs at Scotiabank Arena on August 16, 2020 in Toronto, Ontario. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images) /
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The New York Islanders took a 3-0 series lead after a 2-1 overtime win against the Washington Capitals on Sunday afternoon.

For the first time in the series, the Islanders looked dominant in the first period. In the first two games, the Isles started slow and had to turn it on in the final 40 minutes. Not today.

In the first, the Isles had a 62.5 CF% and 88.9 SCF% with 11 shots to just three for the Capitals according to Natural Stat Trick. They headed into the first with a 1-0 lead, after the Captain scored his third of the series.

The lone goal today for Washington came from Evgeny Kuznetsov on the power play. Jordan Eberle headed off for slashing and the Caps made the Isles pay. They’ve been great on the power play all series and today was no different.

As for the rest of the second period, at 5v5 the Isles had a 55.3 CF%, a 55.6 SCF% and a 60.5 xGF% at 5v5. While the penalty kill and power play struggled again for the Islanders they were once again dominant in this period.

As for the third, the trend would continue for the Isles. They had a 56.7 CF%, a 63.7 SF%, and a 66.3 xGF%. They weren’t able to generate a goal on their eight shots but they held the Capitals to just four shots on goal in the period.

In overtime, the Caps had a couple of big chances but Semyon Varlamov was once again brilliant for this team. He stonewalled Jakub Vrana which allowed for the Islanders to get the eventual game winning goal from Mat Barzal.

While the metrics weren’t great for the overtime period, they were stellar for the game. A 57.4 CF%, 60.9 SF%, 59.1 SCF%, and 68.8 HDCF% for the Islanders at 5v5 would be enough for them to get it done today.

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If the Islanders can even get to average at special teams, this team can be a real tough out for anybody. For now, let’s just thank Barry Trotz. What he’s doing with this team is truly remarkable.

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