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UNIONDALE, N.Y. -- The New York Islanders downed the Washington Capitals 3-1 in Game 6 at Nassau Coliseum on Saturday, forcing a Game 7 in Washington, D.C. Nikolay Kulemin scored the go-ahead goal to satiate a restless crowd and keep the Coliseum doors open for at least a few more days, and Cal Clutterbuck's empty-netter sealed the victory in the final minute.   How it happened: The final minute of periods has been a sore spot for the Islanders in recent weeks, and it happened again Saturday after John Carlson notched an equalizer on the power play with just 4.3 seconds remaining in the first. Carlson’s late-frame marker matched John Tavares' second goal of the playoffs -- a wicked wrister 6:56 into the game -- and the two teams battled through a chippy, heated second period that saw an already-depleted Islanders team take another hit when defenseman Matt Donovan was assessed a 10-minute misconduct penalty with 1:36 remaining in the second.
The Isles, already without Travis Hamonic, Lubomir Visnovsky and Calvin de Haan, played with just five defensemen for almost half of the third period, but still managed to edge the Caps thanks to Kulemin’s critical tally. What it means: The Islanders kept their playoff hopes alive, and now the pressure shifts back to the Capitals as they return to home ice for Monday's Game 7. If the Isles can pull off another victory, they’ll ensure what many felt was a dream matchup: a second-round meeting with the New York Rangers in the Eastern Conference semifinals. Player of the game: Kulemin. As Tavares was down on his knees shaking off a hard hit from Alex Ovechkin along the end boards, Kulemin stuck with the play, beating Braden Holtby with 10:33 to play for what turned out to be the game-winning goal. Stat of the game: 0-for-13 -- that is the Islanders' woeful power-play record through six games in this series, a glaring deficiency. During the regular season, the Isles were in the middle of the pack on the man advantage, ranking 16th in the league with an 18.7 percent success rate. They are the only team in the playoffs that has failed to register a power-play goal. As we’ve seen from previous Stanley Cup-winning clubs, high-octane power plays aren't absolutely necessary, but this could still be a huge factor in this series. The Isles have to be hoping that the special-teams unit comes through in a big way Monday. What's next: Capitals versus Islanders, Game 7, Monday, Verizon Center, time yet to be announced.
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