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Silverman: With Pivotal Game 5 Looming, Islanders Need To Fix Their Power Play STAT

By Steve Silverman
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The ability of hockey players to bounce back from adversity should never be doubted.

The greatest example is what happens in sudden death overtime. While the NFL also has a form of sudden death in its makeup, it almost never occurs with the shocking finish that regularly occurs during the Stanley Cup playoffs.

In the NFL, they like to play fair and make sure each team gets a chance to possess the ball, assuming that a touchdown (or safety) is not scored on the opening possession.

There are no provisions for giving both teams a chance in the NHL. That's because each team has an equal chance of winning from the second the puck is dropped.

Overtime in hockey is simply a heart-wrenching experience, and the longer it goes, the more bile is produced.

Win in overtime, and the emotion is immediate joy that eases into sweet relief. Lose in overtime, and it's a painful blow that settles into numbness. Both of those feelings are often accompanied by sleepless tossing and turning.

The Islanders and Capitals exchanged overtime gut punches in Games 3 and 4, and as the teams return to Washington for Game 5 on Friday, it will be up to the Isles to assert themselves.

They were clearly the better team in Game 1, and they deserved to cash in during Game 3 at Nassau Coliseum, but Washington head coach Barry Trotz got his team to respond in Games 2 and 4, and it's very likely this series will go seven games.

The Islanders have kept Alex Ovechkin in relative check, limiting him to two goals so far. However, Nicklas Backstrom, who normally is content to set up his teammates, has a gift for scoring in the playoffs. That gift comes to the forefront in overtime. Tuesday night's goal was the third playoff overtime winner of his career.

Backstrom has three goals and three assists already, and the Islanders have to find a way to slow him down the rest of the way. They can't give him the Ovechkin treatment, since stellar defenseman Johnny Boychuk is otherwise occupied with the Great 8, but they have to find a way to keep Backstrom from getting off his shot without impediment.

Already without Travis Hamonic, the Islanders injury situation on defense certainly got worse when Capitals ruffian/enforcer Tom Wilson steamrolled Lubomir Visnovsky and sent him tumbling. After Visnovsky got up, he tried to return to action, but eventually had to call it a night. Visnovsky is a clever puck-mover when in good health, and that's a level he may not get back to for several games.

The Islanders have to find a way, and that's where their core leadership of John Tavares, Kyle Okposo and Boychuk must take over. The Caps are clearly a competitive and nasty team, but the Islanders have the ability and the wherewithal to stay with them punch for punch.

"We've got to respond. It's playoff hockey and you're going to face a lot of adversity, mentally and physically," Tavares said Tuesday night. "We just need to regroup and be ready for Thursday."

It's easy to say those words in the locker room, but it's difficult to live up to them after absorbing an overtime loss. The Capitals did it following their loss Sunday, and now it's the Islanders' turn.

In addition to overcoming the emotion of losing on the last shot of the game, the Islanders have to do more on the ice. Jack Capuano has to fix his team's power play and quickly.

The statistics say they are 0-for-10 so far in this series. That lack of production has hurt them badly. Not only have the Islanders failed to put the puck in the net, they have lost momentum as a result of their inability to consistently create good scoring opportunities.

As soon as the Caps kill an Islanders power play, they find a way to push the play to the opposite end of the ice and seize the advantage. An inability to create momentum on the power play – let alone score a goal – could be the difference in winning and losing this series.

Teams have succeeded in the playoffs without productive power plays. The Boston Bruins won the 2011 Stanley Cup even though their power play was stuck in reverse for the majority of their run. The Chicago Blackhawks had the same issue when they won the Cup in 2013.

However, that's not the ideal way to go for a team that wants to get through four rounds. It's not the way for a team to get through the first round.

If the Islanders can get just a bit of production when playing with the man advantage the rest of this series -- say two power play goals in three games – it will be enough to help them get past the Capitals, and advance to the Eastern Conference semifinals.

Follow Steve on Twitter at @ProFootballBoy

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