Through 20 minutes, the only sirens on Long Island are the red lights flashing behind the New York Islanders' net.
Joel Ward and Alex Ovechkin's goals have given the Washington Capitals a 2-0 lead at the end of the first period.
Ward's goal put the Caps up 1-0 for the first time in three games at 5:24. Rick DiPietro stopped John Carlson's initial slap shot from the point and the rebound bounced high into the air. Ward caught the rebound, placed the puck down and his turnaround wrist shot deflected off Marty Reasoner and past DiPietro for his fourth goal of the season.
An interesting sequence late in the period led to several minutes of 4-on-4 play. P.A. Parenteau received a five-minute major after boarding Roman Hamrlik. Ovechkin came to Hamrlik's aid and pushed Parenteau, receiving a roughing penalty for his actions. After Ovechkin's penalty expired, leaving the Caps with three minutes of power play time, Ward tripped Mark Streit behind the net, putting the action back to 4-on-4. Ovechkin atoned for his sin at 18:41 when his one-timer set up by Nicklas Backstrom from the point beat DiPietro. It was Ovechkin's sixth goal of the season that gave Washington a 2-0 lead.
Shots are 12-11 in favor of the Caps.