Game 3 Notebook: Barzal Nets OT Winner, Isles Up 3-0 in Series

The New York Islanders have put the Washington Capitals on the brink of elimination.
Mathew Barzal scored the OT winner on Sunday afternoon, leading the Isles to a 2-1 victory in Game 3 and a 3-0 series lead over the Capitals. The Islanders can close out their First Round series with a win on Tuesday night.
"I'm just really happy to get the winner," Barzal said. "Ultimately for us to be up 3-0 now feels good. We know the next one is going to be a tough one, but for now we'll enjoy today and get back to work tomorrow."
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Video: WSH@NYI, Gm3: Barzal wins it for Islanders in OT

BARZAL PLAYS OT HERO:

Mathew Barzal rose to the occasion on Sunday afternoon, netting the first playoff OT winner of his NHL career at 4:28 of the extra frame. In Barzal fashion it was a beauty, as the Isles center took a quick feed from Jordan Eberle at the blue line, used a burst of speed down the wing and held off John Carlson before curling around Braden Holtby to deposit the puck.
"I run that play a bit in practice or even in games, sneak behind the D a little bit and time it perfectly on the blue line," Barzal said breaking down his goal. "It was a great heads up play by Ebs, great touch on the pass, I've had that play a few times this year, looked five-hole, or short-side, but decided to take this one far post and it paid off."
The OT winner gives Barzal six points (1G, 5A) in seven games this postseason, but he has really come alive with five points (2G, 3A) in his last four games. Barzal, who has 13 points (4G, 9A) in 15 career playoff games has a habit of raising his play in big moments - think back to Game 1 vs Pittsburgh last playoffs - and raised it accordingly in Sunday's OT session.
"He wants to be that difference-maker," Head Coach Barry Trotz said of Barzal. "Today he got an opportunity and he capitalized on it. I just like the growth of Mathew. He's growing all of the time as a player and these experiences are going to help him grow, play the right way and know how to play in the playoffs, understanding that you have to fight for inches, all of those things. It's a really good learning process and he's been accepting the challenges I've given him."

VARLAMOV WINS GOALIE DUEL:

Barzal's finisher wouldn't have been possible without some OT heroics from Semyon Varlamov, who stopped a Jakub Vrana breakaway - and subsequent rebound - 24 seconds before to keep the game alive.
The clutch save was the marquee stop in what became a goalie duel between Varlamov (22 saves) and Holtby (32 saves), as the game was tied 1-1 in roughly the final 40 minutes.
"There wasn't a lot of shots today during the game, but they had a couple of breakaways in the second period and in overtime," Varlamov said. "I'm glad I had a chance to stop that one and when Barzy scored right after I was so pumped the game was over."
With the win, Varlamov continued his impressive playoffs, improving to 6-1 with a 1.71 GAA and a .932 SV%.
"Your goalie is your eraser," Trotz said. "Sometimes as a coach, or a team, your goaltender can erase all of your mistakes and we made a couple mistakes there and Varly erased it. Getting it for him, it's a good process. You want to reward your goalie for bailing you out and you can bail him out."

ISLES POWER PLAY GOES 0-FOR-5:

The Islanders power play had plenty of opportunities on Sunday afternoon, but couldn't convert, going 0-for-5 - including 0-for-3 in the first period - with six total shots. While it was encouraging to see the Isles able to draw penalties against a frustrated Capitals team, they weren't able to make Washington pay. Perhaps the best chance on an Islanders power play was Tom Wilson's shorthanded breakaway in the second period, with the Capitals winger missing wide.
"They have a really good penalty kill," Trotz said of the Capitals. "We had some great looks, we just didn't execute them quick enough. They were being aggressive on us and you have to move the puck when those windows of opportunity open up… We were just a step slow doing that. As we go along here, hopefully we'll find the back of the net a little bit and stay disciplined as we have been."
While the Isles PP struggled to find its offensive rhythm, the Capitals converted on their first chance to tie the score 1-1, as Evgeny Kuznetsov sniped over Varlamov's shoulder on Washington's first - and only - shot with the man advantage at 5:50 of the second period.
The Isles clamped down on their second penalty kill of the afternoon, holding the Caps without a shot on a clutch third period kill. Sunday marked the second-straight game the Isles took two penalties or fewer, which is the type of discipline the team has preached as essential.

LEE SCORES IN THIRD STRAIGHT:

Anders Lee has the hot stick for the Islanders, as the captain scored in his third-straight game.
Lee put the Isles ahead 1-0 at 14:50 of the first period, redirecting a tremendous seeing-eye slap pass from Adam Pelech past Holtby. After scoring one goal in his first 17 playoff games - and empty-netter - Lee has goals in three straight and has been an effective presence for the Isles, especially in a physical matchup.
"It's nice, anytime you can get a couple of bounces and start getting rewarded for your efforts it always feels good," Lee said. "In playoff hockey, there's only one thing that matters and that's coming out on top."

BACKSTROM OUT AGAIN, CAPS LINEUP CHANGES:

Nicklas Backstrom missed his second-straight game, as the Capitals forward is still in concussion protocol.
The Capitals made three changes ahead of Game 3. Defensemen Michal Kempny, Jonas Siegenthaler and forward Travis Boyd were out, while Radko Gudas, Martin Fehervary and Brian Pinho drew in. Pinho made his NHL debut on Sunday.

NEXT GAME:

The Islanders will look to sweep the series on Tuesday night, when the two teams meet for Game 4. The Islanders lead a playoff series 3-0 for the 11th time in franchise history and have won all previous 10 series. Puck drop is at 8 p.m.