WASHINGTON (AP) – Brock Nelson, Josh Bailey, Ryan Strome and the New York Islanders showed that experience is not required for playoff success.
Each of those three young forwards scored in the postseason for the first time, with Nelson getting a pair of goals. Goalie Jaroslav Halak got plenty of help in keeping Alex Ovechkin off the scoring sheet, and the Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 4-1 in Game 1 of their Eastern Conference first-round series Wednesday night.
Bailey (2008), Nelson (2010) and Strome (2011) were all first-round draft picks by New York, none is older than 25, and they entered Wednesday with these combined playoff numbers: seven games, zero goals, three assists.
That didn’t matter one bit on this night. Nor did Halak’s struggles down the stretch in the regular season. The goalie who stymied Ovechkin and the Capitals while playing for eighth-seeded Montreal in a 2010 first-round upset, was mostly superb. He made 24 saves, allowing only Marcus Johansson’s goal in the final minute of the first period.
Game 2 in the best-of-seven series is at Washington on Friday night. The Capitals will need to figure out a way to slow down New York’s offense, avoid lengthy lulls, and get more from Ovechkin. The three-time NHL MVP scored 53 goals this season to lead the league for the third year in a row and fifth time overall. But all eight of his shots Wednesday were turned aside.