Islanders get indicator of where they stand in loss to Capitals

The Islanders’ early-season success has been buoyed by beating up on their Metropolitan Division foes, entering Monday 9-1-0 against them.

Missing from those 10 games were any battles against the Capitals or Blue Jackets, the top two teams in the standings. And given that the last three division titles went through Washington, the Islanders’ first shot at the defending Stanley Cup champs figured to be indicative of where they stand.

Close, but not good enough.

In the battle between Barry Trotz’s past and present, the Capitals pushed past the Islanders with two late goals for a 4-1 win at Barclays Center.

“We can hang with anybody,” captain Anders Lee said. “I don’t think there’s any doubt in that. It’s just you come in here from a game like that where you feel like you put yourself in a position to win, down a goal in the third period against a team like that, with that many power plays, it’s obviously a little frustrating.”

The Islanders (12-9-2) were unable to capitalize on special teams, going 0-for-4 on the power play as they continued their recent woes. They are scoreless in their last 11 man-advantage opportunities, a rut that extends further back to four for their last 40.

The Capitals (14-7-3), meanwhile, cashed in on their own power-play chance late in the third period to put the game away at 3-1 when Islanders nemesis Tom Wilson scored his second goal of the night soon after a five-on-three became a five-on-four. Alex Ovechkin added an empty-netter for the final deficit.

“We had opportunities on the power plays to take control of the game,” Trotz said. “We weren’t able to get that done. That’s what champions do. They find ways to get it done at the end of the day. We’re going to get there.”

While the Islanders claimed an early lead just 36 seconds into the game when Valtteri Filppula stayed hot with his seventh goal on his 20th shot of the season, the Islanders felt they were too tentative the rest of the first period.

The Capitals were quick to answer, on Wilson’s first goal that beat Thomas Greiss (20 saves) five-hole at 2:50. They nearly got more as they controlled the possession for long stretches.

“We were kind of on our heels a bit, letting them dictate the pace of play and gave them too much respect,” said winger Matt Martin, who made his return to the lineup after missing 10 games with an upper-body injury.

Lee and Trotz both used the same term — giving the Capitals too much “respect” — as the Islanders played their fourth game in six nights.

The Capitals beat Greiss from the right circle again in the second period when Nic Dowd delivered what proved to be the winner. It came in between three power plays the Islanders wasted in the period.

Instead, Braden Holtby stopped 32 of the 33 shots the Islanders put on net, including all six on the power play.

“We had some really great looks and they had some commitment,” Trotz said. “They had a couple big blocks. We had some zone time. We weren’t able to hit a couple of our spots.”

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While the power-play struggles continued, Lee saw progress he hopes will come to fruition starting Thursday against the Bruins.

“If you look at our power play tonight versus the past two nights, it was much better,” Lee said. “We’re getting looks.”

They just didn’t convert. The Capitals did, and with that, their Metropolitan Division lead grew.

“Every game’s really important,” Trotz said. “Obviously these Metro games, that was an opportunity to move up the ladder, if you will. We weren’t able to do that but that doesn’t mean it stops right there.”