3 Takeaways: Special Teams Lead Isles to 5-1 Win over Capitals

Barry Trotz said he wanted the Islanders to play "the right way" to finish out the season and on Thursday night, that was the case.
The Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 5-1 in the penultimate game at UBS Arena. The power play scored a season-high three goals, as the Isles swept a home-and-home set with their Metropolitan Division rivals by a 9-2 aggregate.

Brock Nelson, Anders Lee and Kyle Palmieri scored power-play goals, while JG Pageau and Josh Bailey scored at even strength. Mathew Barzal had a game-high three assists. Axel Jonsson-Fjallby spoiled Semyon Varlamov's shutout bid with under a minute to play, but the Islanders netminder still stopped 26-of-27 shots in the win.
"We're certainly not going to give up," Bailey said. "You want to end things on the right note, regardless of the situation you're in. That's what we intend to do and at least go out and give a good effort every night. I think we owe it to the fans with their support this year has been great, like every other year."

SPECIAL TEAMS STAY HOT:

The Islanders special teams were red-hot in the two-game set against the Capitals.
The power play went a combined 5-for-7 over the two games, going 2-for-2 on Tuesday before going 3-for-5 on Thursday night. The penalty kill was a perfect 10-for-10 over the two games - albeit against a Capitals power play without Alex Ovechkin - with a shorthanded goal on Tuesday.
ISLANDERS 5, CAPITALS 1
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Full Highlights
Postgame: Trotz
Postgame: Bailey and Barzal
Postgame: Nelson and Palmieri
KINGER'S CALLS
Nelson's PPG
Lee's Power-Play Goal
Pageau's Individual Effort
Palmieri's 200th Goal
Bailey's Slick Tally
The special teams powered both wins, scoring a season-high three goals on Thursday, netting goals on its first two opportunities.
Nelson opened the scoring at 10:48, one-timing a cross-ice feed from Barzal for his 37th goal of the season and 11th power-play goal of the year. The Isles took a 2-0 lead on a four-on-three power play later in the period, as Lee redirected a Barzal feed from his office in the low slot for the captain's 28th goal of the season.
Palmieri completed the power play hat trick, one-timing a feed from Bailey at 6:23.
"Our power play did a great job," Nelson said. "It started in Washington and I thought we did a good job and then carried over tonight. Good puck movement, finding open guys you know, staying patient, but also aggressive at the same time and capitalizing on a couple big moments."
The penalty kill was also solid, killing off a pair of double-minors, first with Adam Pelech taking a pair of penalties for two separate cross-checks, while Oliver Wahlstrom slashed and roughed Garnet Hathaway to answer for Hathaway's hit on Sebastian Aho.
While the shorthanded unit didn't score, Pageau's goal came shortly after the Pelech double-minors expired, with Pageau driving wide, cutting towards the net and beating Vitek Vanecek high-far side for his 17th goal of the season.

NOAH DOBSON HITS 50 POINTS, KYLE PALMIERI HITS 200 GOALS:

While Trotz said personal milestones weren't the priority for Thursday's game, a pair of Islanders did hit significant personal marks.
Noah Dobson recorded his 50th point of the season on Thursday, as he dished assists on the first two goals, earning secondary helpers in both instances. The 22-year-old now has eight points (2G, 6A) in his last six games.
With the two points, Dobson becomes the first Isles defenseman to record 50 since Mark Streit had 56 points in the 2008-09 season. While he's the 19th defenseman this season to hit the 50-point plateau, it was still a line of demarcation for the third-year blueliner.
"Fifty points is a valuable equity in today's game because it's so hard to score as it is, you need that support and that secondary scoring and the D are a big part of that," Trotz said. "Today was a perfect game for me because he let the game come to him. He was good on both sides of the puck and he still produced. There's some games where he's gotten points but he's forced the issue and you know, he's just trading chances and today, he controlled the game by letting the game come to him."

Palmieri scored his 200th career goal on Thursday, burying a Bailey feed for a one-timer in the slot at 6:23 of the third period.
The milestone goal came one game after Palmieri had a goal overturned due to goalie interference. Disallowed and overturned goals have been a regular occurrence for Palmieri, who had seven, per a Trotz estimation. When a reporter asked Palmieri how it felt to score his 200th goal, Nelson chimed in and said "206th."
Palmieri laughed and said a few players were yelling "Review!" from the bench after his goal.
"It felt good to get that one and not sit on that for the summer," Palmieri said.
With Thursday's tally, Palmieri has 26 points (14G, 12A) in 40 games since the all-star break.

LINEUP CHANGES:

The Islanders got some reinforcements on Thursday night, as Brock Nelson and Zdeno Chara returned from non-COVID illnesses. The bug going around the Islanders room did force Ryan Pulock out of the lineup.
Anthony Beauvillier also returned to the lineup after missing four games with an upper-body injury, replacing Ross Johnston.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders wrap up their season on Friday night when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning. Puck drop is at 7:30 p.m.