LAS VEGAS (AP) Nate Schmidt spent the previous four seasons playing for the Washington Capitals Youth Matt Nieto Jersey , and he personally experienced the heartbreak of their recent playoff disappointments. The defenseman understands why many people thought this talented, experienced team might never win a championship.Schmidt and his many good friends with the Caps are finally in the Stanley Cup Final this week. Only they’re on opposite benches after the Vegas Golden Knights grabbed Schmidt in the expansion draft and wouldn’t give him back.Schmidt was Washington’s sixth defenseman last season, but he now leads the Golden Knights in ice time. The improbable matchup in Monday night’s series opener puts a bewildered grin on Schmidt’s face.”Yeah, I don’t think you could have written this up any better for me,” he said Sunday.Both of his franchises are in the midst of banner years, and Schmidt won’t argue with the idea that he deserves a small part of the credit.Or maybe the blame.”I really enjoyed my time in Washington,” Schmidt said. ”I thought that team was special, and we still had a good chance to go and do something, and here they are, proving it.”Schmidt stops himself as another grin invades his serious interview session.”I must have been the reason why!” he said. ”I must have been the problem.”Not likely. Schmidt’s irrepressible personality and two-way acumen have made him one of the Golden Knights’ most valuable players during their improbable inaugural season.He surpassed his previous career highs with five goals and 31 assists while doing steady work on the back end. Given extensive responsibilities in Vegas after playing a smaller role in Washington, Schmidt has taken a major step forward.”The perception of your game could be remodeled and redone, and I think that’s the coolest part of what we’ve been able to do here in Vegas,” Schmidt said. ”You have guys that have been able to revamp their image or revamp their style, and for other guys to grow into the players that people may not have thought they could be.”Schmidt might have had this success in Washington if he had stuck around. He had begun to assert himself in a pairing with John Carlson, the Caps’ No. 1 defenseman.”We were playing together last season, and that’s probably how it would have started out again this season,” said Carlson, who led all NHL blueliners this season with 68 points. ”So there’s a little disappointment from that, but obviously he’s done really well for himself. That’s no surprise. I wish him all the best, but not for these next two weeks.”Schmidt has been particularly effective in the playoffs. Partnered with former Kings defenseman Brayden McNabb in the Knights’ top pairing, Schmidt has provided energy, timely scoring and strong back-end play while Vegas roared past Los Angeles, San Jose and Winnipeg with just three losses.Schmidt knows more about the Caps than his teammates Mikko Rantanen Jersey , so he realizes the enormity of their task. He’ll lead the Golden Knights’ efforts to minimize Alex Ovechkin’s time and space with the puck.”He’s a beast,” Schmidt said. ”I played against him in practice for a long time, so hopefully I know a few tendencies of his. But in reality, he’s a player that can shoot the puck from anywhere.”Schmidt’s unusual perspective on this series is matched only by Vegas general manager George McPhee. Before the Caps fired him in 2014, McPhee acquired many of the players on Washington’s roster – including Schmidt, an undrafted free agent out of the University of Minnesota, in 2013.McPhee acquired him again last summer for Vegas, but Washington general manager Brian MacLellan tried hard to keep him with a post-draft trade. If anybody could have made a deal, it’s these two men, who have known each other for 44 years since their bantam playing days in Guelph, Ontario, followed by college careers at Bowling Green and several years together in Washington’s front office.Not even a childhood friendship could keep Schmidt away from his new destiny in Vegas.”We made our selection, and then he called and asked if there’s any way we could do a deal for him to get Schmidt back,” McPhee recalled. ”And I said, `I don’t see anything, but we’ll try to come up with something to give you a chance to say no.’ We made a proposal that I didn’t think would work, and it didn’t work. Our guys liked Schmidt.”—More Stanley Cup coverage: https://apnews.com/tag/StanleyCupFinals NEW YORK (AP) Mathew Barzal responded less than 30 seconds after Philadelphia came back from three goals down in the third period to tie the score, and the New York Islanders got a big win over the playoff-chasing Flyers.Barzal had two goals and an assist, scoring the tiebreaking goal with 6 1/2 minutes remaining, to lead the Islanders to a 5-4 win Tuesday night as Philadelphia squandered a chance to move closer to clinching a playoff spot.”It was a great response to a tough situation,” New York coach Doug Weight said. ”It was nice to get that goal right away and we were able to hold it down (after that).”John Tavares also scored twice and Anthony Beauvillier added a goal and two assists to help the Islanders get their third win in eight games, but just the fourth in their past 20 (4-12-4). Thomas Greiss stopped 27 shots.Nolan Patrick had two goals and an assist, Claude Giroux added a goal and an assist Nathan MacKinnon Jersey , and Wayne Simmonds also scored for Philadelphia. Petr Mrazek finished with 32 saves while falling to 6-6-3 in 15 games since being acquired from Detroit.The Flyers lead Florida by four points for the last playoff spot in the Eastern Conference after New Jersey won to jump one point ahead of Philadelphia for the first wild card. The Flyers and Devils each have two games remaining while the Panthers have three.”Obviously it’s in the back of our minds, but if we want to get that playoff spot we got to do better than that,” Patrick said.While the Flyers have beaten strong playoff-bound teams such as Winnipeg, Washington and Boston in recent weeks, they have lost to struggling teams such as Detroit, Dallas and the Islanders.”Those teams are still good teams, not a lot of easy games anymore in this league,” Giroux said. ”We didn’t earn that win tonight. We got make sure we come out strong next game.”The Islanders appeared to take control with a three-goal second period to take a 4-1 lead, but the Flyers – who were 5-0-3 in their previous eight – tied it with three goals in a nine-minute stretch of the third.Patrick started the Flyers’ rally in the third as he deflected Shayne Gostisbehere’s point shot in at 4:07 to make it 4-2. Giroux’s assist on the play extended his points streak to eight games.Patrick then got Philadelphia to 4-3 as he knocked in a loose puck in front at 8:16 for his 13th and the rookie’s first multi-goal game.Giroux tied it with 6:56 left as he beat Greiss top-shelf on the glove side for his 30th.”We let them back in it and gave them some life,” Tavares said. ”They started feeling a lot better about their game. … They’re playing for a lot and we’re just trying to finish strong so we’re just competing hard.”Barzal then regained the lead for New York just 28 seconds later as he was streaking to the net, got a pass from Beauvillier and beat Mrazek for his 22nd.The Islanders went ahead with three goals while outshooting the Flyers 17-5 in the second.Beauvillier gave New York a 2-1 lead as he skated across the slot and got his 20th at 3:43.”It feels good to get to 20, but it’s not the spot we want to be in right now,” said Beauvillier, who scored for the fourth straight game and sixth time in his past seven.Tavares put the Islanders up two with his second of the game with just under nine minutes left in the middle period, knocking the rebound of his initial shot over the falling Mrazek’s glove for his 36th.Barzal made it 4-1 from the right circle with 3:33 left in the period.Tavares got the Islanders on the scoreboard 7:15 into the game, just 10 seconds into a tripping penalty on the Flyers’ Sean Couturier.Simmonds tied it with 53 seconds left in the opening period with his 24th.NOTES: Tavares has six goals and 13 points in his past 15 games. He is two goals away from his career high of 38 set in 2014-15. … Barzal’s assist on Tavares’ goal was his 60th, moving him two away from Sergei Makarov (62 for Calgary in 1989-90) for third by a rookie since the 1983-84 season. Joe Juneau leads that list with 70 for Boston in 1992-93, followed by Pittsburgh’s Sidney Crosby with 63 in 2005-06. Barzal is also three away from tying Bryan Trottier for the Islanders’ rookie mark set in 1975-76. … Bailey, back after missing two games with an upper body injury, played in his 713th game, moving past Pat Flatley into sole possession for seventh place on the franchise list. … The Islanders won three of four in the season series. … Giroux has four goals and 10 assists during his scoring streak.UP NEXTFlyers: Host Carolina on Thursday night, and the New York Rangers on Saturday to close the regular season.Islanders: Host the Rangers on Thursday night before closing season at Detroit on Saturday night.—Follow Vin Cherwoo at www.twitter.com/VinCherwooAP—
