The New York Islanders may be leading the Washington Capitals 1-0, but the Caps are beating themselves.
Three penalties for the Caps cost them as John Tavares' power play goal has the Islanders on top after 20 minutes.
Tavares extended his point streak to 10 games and gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 12:05. With Karl Alzner in the penalty box for holding, Tavares tapped in a cross-ice slap pass from Mark Streit for his 17th goal of the season. The Islanders' 1-0 lead was the first time that the Caps trailed at home since December 13 against the Philadelphia Flyers.
Washington committed two penalties after that, starting with Jeff Halpern's tripping penalty at 17:27. Just 21 seconds later, Jason Chimera received two minutes for slashing, a penalty that the Caps will have to kill off to start the second period.
Shots are 10-5 in favor of New York.
For more on the Caps, visit SB Nation's Caps blog, Japers' Rink.