They came in droves, on Amtrak or up I-95, clad in red and belting the ‘O’ in the national anthem.
They took over UBS Arena on Sunday afternoon, driving secondary-market prices through the roof, turning it into a Capitals home game and buzzing whenever Alex Ovechkin touched the puck. They were hoping to see Goal No. 895, the record-breaker, after Ovechkin tied Wayne Gretzky’s all-time mark with a pair of goals on Friday night in D.C., setting up history for Sunday afternoon on Long Island.
Gretzky was there in a suite, and so was NHL commissioner Gary Bettman. So, for that matter, was the entire Tampa Bay Lightning coaching staff and front office, hoping to bear witness before facing the Rangers on Monday at Madison Square Garden.
They got the goal they wanted. The Islanders denied the Capitals fans the pleasure of a win, too, familiarizing the visiting fans with the name of Marc Gatcomb, who scored twice to lead a 4-1 Islanders victory that keeps their slim playoff hopes alive for another day.
Ilya Sorokin, who had never allowed a goal to his friend Ovechkin before Sunday, gave up a power-play goal to No. 8 at 7:26 of the second period to break the record, prompting a long ceremony that stopped the game for approximately 20 minutes.
After all that, it was still 2-1 Islanders.
The Capitals, truth be told, had looked a little preoccupied with the record, perhaps to the point that it allowed the Islanders a window to grab control of the game.
That control, however, did not change in the immediate aftermath of the record being broken, with Gatcomb potting his second goal of the afternoon a mere three minutes after play resumed to extend the lead to 3-1.
Bo Horvat had given the Isles a 1-0 lead 7:06 into the match, ripping in Simon Holmstrom’s feed to the low slot. Just 1:54 later, Gatcomb made it 2-0 off Kyle MacLean’s feed on the rush.
All the while, Ovechkin was limited, with little interest in participating while the Capitals were in their own zone, which in practice meant he did not impact the early goings at all.
After breaking the record, the Capitals breathed a little easier, but it was the Islanders who did a better job of staying unaffected by the moment.
Jean-Gabriel Pageau made it 4-1 just 4:20 into the third, jamming in the puck from the right post and putting it just past the goal line, as confirmed by review.
Almost assuredly, it is too late to result in anything aside from a nominal playoff push — the Islanders would need to be nearly perfect the rest of the way and get some help to finish above the cut line.
For a second straight game, though, the Islanders could go home satisfied with their 60-minute effort.
