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.
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The Islanders denied the Capitals fans the pleasure of a win though, 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.
“He win, we win, everybody win-win,” Ilya Sorokin said, summing up the afternoon aptly.
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 set the record, prompting an in-game ceremony that stopped the action for 24 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 surpassed, with Gatcomb potting his second goal of the afternoon a mere three minutes after play resumed to extend the lead to 3-1.
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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.
“Being a part of a moment like this and being able to contribute to a win for our team, especially two huge points for us, it’s cool,” Gatcomb said. “It’s definitely something I’ll remember for the rest of my life. Special day.”
After Ovechkin passed Gretzky, the Capitals breathed a little easier, but it was the Islanders who did a better job of staying unaffected by the moment.
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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.
It seemed to escape notice amid all the Ovechkin-related hoopla, but that equated to a strong 60-minute effort from the Islanders against the best team in the East, albeit one that was undoubtedly a bit distracted by the proceedings.
“I was very happy the way we played today,” coach Patrick Roy said. “I thought our ‘D’ did a good job of breaking out, getting the puck out. I loved the poise that we had and we were sharp mentally. We stayed strong from the start to the end.”
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.
Still, there’s little choice but to try.
“We’re still fighting, we still believe we can do it,” Casey Cizikas said. “Every game’s important. To get the two points against one of the [best] teams in the league is a big boost.”
