WASHINGTON — The Islanders need to shore up their defensive effort as they conclude a home-and-home series with the Capitals on Friday night at Capital One Arena.
And that’s not just because the Capitals won, 7-3, on Thursday night at Barclays Center as they chased Christopher Gibson after the goalie allowed five goals on 12 shots. Or that the Islanders allowed five or more goals for the 19th time this season.
It has more to do with the open space the Capitals found for skating room.
“The Islanders just gave us a lot of room to skate on from the beginning,” said Capitals left wing Andre Burakovsky, who made it 4-2 at 3:12 of the second period after setting up T.