The Islanders certainly didn’t play like a first-place team.
Which is why they remained in third place in the East Division after a 6-3 loss to the Capitals on Saturday night before a sell-out crowd of 1,400 at Nassau Coliseum.
The first-place Capitals, who had three, two-goal leads before the final margin, won back-to-back games at the Coliseum with the teams concluding their three-game series on Tuesday night in Washington.
Rookie goalie Ilya Sorokin gave up two questionable goals and, too often, was caught too far back in his crease. But he was also not helped out defensively.