UNIONDALE, N.Y. — Facing a 3-1 series deficit, the Capitals received contributions from their two biggest stars and beat the New York Islanders 2-1 in overtime. Nicklas Backstrom scored for the third straight game as Washington evened the series 2-2 with Game 5 Thursday night in D.C.
Star number one was captain Alex Ovechkin, who deflected a John Carlson shot for a 1-0 lead 13:06 into the game. The early lead was big for the Capitals, as they had failed to score first in each of the first three games of the series after posting a 37-2-2 record, tops in the NHL, during the regular season when doing so.