New York Islanders head coach Jack Capuano was all smiles Wednesday night, despite the bright red mark riding the ridge of his nose. Capuano's team made short work of the defending Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning on Wednesday to the tune of 5-3. And while the final score was close, the game had already tipped far in New York's favor by the time an errant pass ricocheted into the Isles bench and caught Capuano in the face.
The immediate aftermath was the kind of scene that you always worry about seeing at an NHL game - Capuano doubled over with a towel clutched to his face, moving slowly down the bench toward the dressing room.
However, all's well that ends well, it seems.
"A little bit of a headache right now," Capuano told reporters after the game. "I've been hit more times (behind the bench) than when I played. It caught the tip of my nose, fortunately it wasn't anything more serious."
The Islanders raced out to a 4-1 lead thanks to goals from big defenseman Travis Hamonic, 23-year-old forward Shane Prince, who potted two markers, and captain John Tavares.
Tavares has been on an absolute tear this postseason, continuing the strong play that was directly responsible for the Islanders sneaking past the Florida Panthers in the first round (those two goals, one to tie it up, one to win Game 7 in double-overtime were things of brutal, will-imposing beauty), as has netminder Thomas Greiss, who has been very solid in place of the injured Jaroslav Halak.
Greiss finished Game One against the Lightning with 33 saves, and though Tampa Bay ultimately made a game of it late, the big backstopper stood tall and gave a bruised, battered, but unbowed Capuano something to smile about at his post-game press conference. Tavares' goal Wednesday gave him a share of the NHL playoff-lead for goals, with six shared with current opponent Nikita Kucherov.
It was an ideal start for the Isles - even if Capuano may not deem it as such - but they'll likely be expecting an angry Lightning team for Game Two, especially Tampa Bay goaltender Ben Bishop, who was pulled after the Islanders' second period flurry on, ironically, the same day that he was announced as a Veniza Trophy finalist.
