Trotz, Islanders extend series lead on Metropolitan rival Capitals
Washington struggles to cope with New York's suffocating pressure in Game 2
Long after Brock Nelson scored on a breakaway to restore the New York Islanders' lead, he and his teammates hemmed the Washington Capitals in their zone for a long shift that can wear an opponent down.
Trotz is on the other side now, and his Islanders beat the Capitals 5-2 Friday night to take a 2-0 lead in the first-round series. New York played Trotz's trademark structured, suffocating style perfectly, from responding to a Capitals goal in the first minute to controlling the puck when it mattered most.
"That's how you win, and guys are committed to that effort," Trotz said. "We didn't back off. We just stayed to our game, and we got the result we wanted."
Given 86 per cent of teams that go up 2-0 in a best-of-seven series in NHL history have gone on to win it, Trotz is well on the way to beating the team that let him walk rather than give him a raise after delivering the first title in franchise history. The Capitals instead promoted assistant Todd Reirden to head coach and have not since won a playoff series.
WATCH | Bock Nelson tally gives Isles a lead they'd go on to protect:
Trotz showed his value behind the bench when the Islanders reached the second round last year and again in these playoffs. The Islanders won a penalty-filled, physical Game 1 and handled a different style in Game 2 without looking fazed.
Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin registered his first point of the NHL's restart when he scored 56 seconds in. He scored again in the second period to tie it and missed out on a second career playoff hat trick when he hit the side of the net on a prime chance on the power play in the third.
"I just missed the net," Ovechkin said.
Washington's penalty kill that was a perfect 14-for-14 finally allowed a goal when Nick Leddy scored a power-play goal in the second period. A turnover by Lars Eller led to a goal by Matt Martin before Ovechkin tied it.
WATCH | CBC Sports' Rob Pizzo recaps Thursday in the NHL's restart:
Then another Capitals mistake wound up in their net. Jakub Vrana coughed up the puck at the offensive blue line, springing Nelson for his breakaway goal 15 seconds after Ovechkin scored. Vrana was benched for the final 13 minutes of the period, and he's not the only Washington player who's struggling.
"We have some adversity," Reirden said. "We have to fight through. It's not going to happen easily, it never does, and we have to put more work in and match that compete to give ourselves a chance to have some of our skill be more present in the game."
Knowing Trotz's experience and looking at the talented Capitals on the other side, the Islanders also know they're not going to move on to the second round without a fight.
"It doesn't get any easier from here," Martin said. "They have a championship pedigree over there. It's just going to get harder and harder from here, so we've got to be ready and we've got to stay true to our game as much as possible and hopefully at the end of the day that's enough."
