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Well that got off to a nice, breezy start but as Barry Trotz said, maybe that first period was too easy. The Capitals weren’t about to roll over. (Indeed, they took liberties like they didn’t care if they might be suspended for Regular Season Games To Be Named Later.) And the Islanders’ power play wasn’t about to make them think about calling it a night.
Now the Isles have to go back to D.C. and face the Sea of Red, er, well, now they have to put white uniforms back on for Game 5 Thursday in Toronto.
Islanders News
#Isles Barry Trotz: "I thought it came too easy in the first for us. Therefore, we didn’t have enough skin in the game, if you will, not to take anything away from the way they played. They played a complete game. We didn’t respond well enough."
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) August 19, 2020
Recaps of Game 4: LHH | Newsday | Isles | NHL | The Skinny | Japers’ Rink
But before that, as we prepped our “what a series!” tributes:
- The Islanders have sure looked playoff ready. [Newsday]
- Love for the line of Derick Brassard, J-G Pageau, and Leo Komarov. [Isles]
- Pageau has always had a “knack for the big moment.” [Athletic] Back in Ottawa, he looks like the one that got away. [Ottawa Sun]
- Komarov has been putting on the hits. [Newsday]
- With a donation of 1,000 gowns, the Islanders are the first NHL team to participate in Starlight Children’s Foundation hospital gown program. [Isles]
- The game also featured an injury (or several potential injuries, with Capitals taking cheap runs at Casey Cizikas, Adam Pelech and Scott Mayfield, among others):
No immediate update on Cal Clutter from #Isles Barry Trotz. Didn't sound crazy about the way Gudas got underneath on the check but said Clutterbuck could have gotten rid of the puck earlier.
— Andrew Gross (@AGrossNewsday) August 19, 2020
Elsewhere
Yesterday’s other NHL scores included the Flyers taking a 3-1 series lead with a 2-0 win over the Canadiens, and the Stars pulling ahead 3-2 in their series with the Flames.
- Goddamn cancer. R.I.P, Dale Hawerchuk, the beloved former Jet, Sabre (and others) Hall of Famer who succumbed to the awful disease at age 57. [NHL | TSN | Die By The Blade | Arctic Ice Hockey] Remembered for his quiet brilliance. [Sportsnet]
- Wayne Gretzky spoke with Hawerchuk the day before, reminiscing about the ‘87 Canada Cup and a great story about the faceoff before that famous 6-5 winning goal. [NHL]
- The Lightning have their own identity line, which is giving Columbus fits. [TSN]
- The Flames need to prove their resilience. [Sportsnet]
- Vladimir Tarasenko has exited the bubble, returning to St. Louis to have his surgically repaired shoulder examined by team doctors. [TSN]
- Meanwhile, in never-made-the-bubble land, the new Sabres GM has some contract decisions to make soon. [NHL]
- The Maven with a few thoughts and quotes from one of the two 6-OT games from the 1930s. [NHL]