The Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty debate was settled with a Capitals win, 3-2 in overtime last night at Capital One Arena, and the verdict is -- Half Full.
The Glass Half-Full or Half-Empty debate was settled with a Capitals win, 3-2 in overtime last night at Capital One Arena, and the verdict is -- Half Full.
For that, the New York Islanders have to thank Anders Lee, who rescued his team with a late third-period goal when it appeared that the Visitors were about to lose the match in regulation time.
"That's a big point we got," the Captain asserted. "Sure, we'd have loved to get two, but there are nights where you just gotta find a way to tie it, and we did that."
It was accomplished in typical gritty Islanders' forechecking style in the left corner of the Caps zone, where the Isles forced a turnover. Lee emerged from an in-front-of-the-net scramble and did a nifty front-to-backhand deke before depositing the rubber in the right corner.
Lee: "The team did a wonderful job to stick it out and grind it but there are some nights when you're just not going to win."
The killer came in overtime on a Caps power play when Ryan Strome beat Semyon Varlamov at 1:41 of the extra session; which remains an Isles weak spot. The club now is 3-6 in overtime over the season.
"We almost had the penalty killed," said coach Lane Lambert, "but on the plus side, we found a way to come back (from one-goal deficits) twice, and we got another game with good goaltending."
Varly salvaged what all agreed was a slothful start by limiting the Caps to a single goal until Hudson Fasching tied the count at 1:03 of the middle period with a deft wraparound.
After the Caps went ahead 2-1 in the second, the Isles moved into a higher gear.
"We finished strong," Lee added, "but the fact is that we could have had a better start."
Bear in mind that the Isles are keeping their heads above water without three regular defensemen -- the tandem of Adam Pelech and Ryan Pulock, as well as Scott Mayfield.
As a result, young, reliable Noah Dobson has been carrying an extra heavy load.
Against the Caps, he logged 28:19 and wound up a plus-2, further underlining his bid to win the Norris Trophy as the NHL's best defenseman.
"We can look at this game both ways (glass half empty or half full), but the bottom line is that we have to manage the puck better than we did against Washington," Dobson explained. "But give Varly credit for giving us a chance to win."
The fact that the club twice overcame one-goal deficits to gain an extra point is part of the half-full equation. On the half-empty side was Bo Horvat being shut out, thus ending his career-best point streak at eleven games (8-9-17).
When all is said and done, the point is that the one point keeps the Elmonters right in the midst of the Metropolitan Division playoff race, which is about as thick as frozen molasses.
"Hey, it wasn't our best game," Lee concluded, "but we did find a way to get to overtime."
All things considered, The Maven will take that point and look ahead to Saturday night when our guys visit Raleigh, and a 7 p.m. start against the Hurricanes. It will mark the Isles last game before the Christmas break which ends December 27 at Pittsburgh.
Need I say that these all are playoff-type biggies?
I guess I already said that!