Islanders vs. Capitals Game 1 results: New York cruises to 4-1 victory

Frans Nelson led the way for New York as the Isles took an early series lead.

The Islanders defeated the Capitals in Game 1 of the Atlantic Division Semifinals, 4-1, doing so thanks in large part to a strong second period and an underwhelming performance from Washington's netminder.

This marks the first time New York has won a series opener since 2003.

The Isles' Frans Nelson opened up the scoring 4:06 into the opening frame with a wrister from the top of the right circle. Marcus Johansson tied the contest late in the first by beating Jaroslav Halak far side, but the score would not be knotted for long, as Ryan Strome and Josh Bailey found twine in the middle stanza -- providing the Isles with a lead they would not relinquish.

Nelson potted his second of the night into an empty cage with 1:19 left in regulation to seal the victory.

Caps backstop Braden Holtby, who set numerous franchise records in 2014-15, was not as sharp as he often was en route to the NHL's seventh-best save percentage. The 25-year-old should have undoubtedly stopped Nelson's tally, and Bailey's didn't exactly come from a Grade A chance, either.

Holtby did improve as the night wore on -- he came up big during a third period penalty kill in which the Isles forced him to make three big stops -- but it was too little too late.

Halak stood tall in the other crease, turning aside 24 of 25 shots against, and aided New York's usually mediocre PK by forcing Washington's power play to go 0-2.

The Caps will try to even the series on Friday at the Verizon Center. Opening face off is scheduled for 7 ET.

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