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In a game that decided seeding for the playoffs, the Caps rested their stars while the Islanders looked to cling to second place in the Metropolitan Division and keep home ice advantage.
The Caps ended their fourth season atop the Metropolitan Division with a 3-0 loss, ensuring the Islanders clinched second place in the Metro. The game gave the Caps a 2-2 series tie against the Isles.
After a slow first period that consisted of clogged passing lanes and misfires that hit posts, Devon Toews sent a saucer pass to give Valtteri Filppula a breakaway. After a backhand-forehand deke, he put the Isles on the board five minutes into the second period. It’s Filppula’s first game back from a hyperextended elbow, and he’d miss eight games before Saturday night’s game.
To start the third period, the Caps tried to mount a comeback. Tom Wilson rang the crossbar two minutes in, the third post the Caps hit during the game. Filppula added an insurance marker with 10 minutes remaining in the third after he tipped an Adam Pelech pass through Pheonix Copley’s five-hole. The goal is Filppula’s third against the Caps this season.
Matt Martin added an empty-netter to make it 3-0, and Robin Lehner held strong with a 29 save shutout.
