UNIONDALE, N.Y. – At some point during the postgame madness, after the officials had finished peeling the New York Islanders and Washington Capitals from atop each other, the captain for the home team decided enough was enough, and that the time had come to celebrate.
While the Capitals gathered their helmets and sticks from the ice and retreated into the visiting tunnel, forward John Tavares meandered from the bench toward the net. He raised both arms into the air, imploring Nassau Coliseum to get louder. He embraced goaltender Jaroslav Halak, and soon the other Islanders followed suit.