UNIONDALE, N.Y.Matt Martin stood in front of his locker, the bridge of his nose black and blue with a fresh red wound peeking out from under an Islanders capIt happened a few games ago, he said. It just keeps reopening. My nose cant get a break these days...no pun intended.In a series that has been one violent collision after another, Martin and his fourth line have been the ones initiating most of the contact.He didnt score the season-saving, game-winning, third-period goal in the Islanders 3-1 win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday afternoonthat was Nikolai Kulemin. But years from now, when Nassau Coliseum becomes a footnote in NHL lore, fans in attendance will recall the breakneck, car-wreck style that defined and changed Game 6 more than the goal itself.Martin leads the league in hits this postseason, which makes it odd he wasnt part of a melee in front of the Islanders bench midway through the third period that saw bodies tumbling to the ice and players in the midst of a line change unsure if they were coming or going, roughhousing or joining the rush.In the meantime, John Tavares led a solo attack that was wiped out by Karl Alzner, a fine defensive play.Thats when the Capitals took it one hit too far, making it only fitting a brutal check helped decide the outcome.Alex Ovechkin plastered Tavares into the glass from behind, a hit thats almost always a penalty in the regular season and should be illegal in all 50 states and most Canadian provinces, but it drew no call from officials. Play continued, and with two Capitals behind the net and no one in front of hit, Kulemin danced around a helpless Braden Holtby to stash home the deciding goal.Tavares scraped himself off the ice to celebrate, happy to embrace the pain after it created a goal.There will be a Game 7 in Washington on Monday night for a slew of reasonsTavares' performance in Game 6 among the most importantbut it was the Capitals losing control in a fleeting, crucial moment that opened the door for the Islanders to stay alive.The entire scene was in stark contrast to a play in the final 10 seconds of the second period, when Martin devastated the Capitals Troy Brouwer with a clean hit. Brouwer, somehow, rose to his feet, got a shot off before the horn, shrugged in Martins direction and that was it.If you cant take hits, you may as well pack your bags and go home, Martin said, because this isnt the series to be in.Hits have gotten a bad rap in recent years with the rise of analytics, and understandably so; the main way you can deliver a lot of hits is by not having the puck, and if you dont have the puck, its hard to score goals, which makes it hard to win games, which is the point of slamming around a frozen rubber disk on a sheet of ice with razors on your feet.The Islanders outhit the Capitals, 46-32, in Game 6, which is not at all indicative of the possession battle or even the quality of the game, which was magnificent in every way. The Islanders had 53.4 percent of the five-on-five shot attempts (63-55) and 52.3 percent of the five-on-five unblocked shot attempts (46-42).This series has everything youd ever wantskill, hitting, dramatics, superstars like Tavares and Ovechkin scoring key goals and, as evidenced Saturday, a hatred that nobody minds hiding, especially not Martin.You line up against the same guys six games in a row, you start to not like each others faces, Martin said. Theyre a big, physical team. Theyre going to play with grit, and were going to do the same thing. Theyre going to throw hitssome hits we may not like. We can do the same thing, and we will do the same thing.Martin was credited with a game-high 11 hits in Game 6he also had a 68 percent Corsiwith teammate Colin McDonalds five hits tying for third-most with Ovechkin. McDonald had not played all series and was inserted in place of Anders Lee, a healthy scratch.A guy like me likes to play these games, said McDonald, who had 72 hits in 18 regular-season games and was near the benches during the rumble that preceded Tavares goal. That was a bit of an extreme. I didnt know if the play was stopped or what. I think everyone was watching what was going on at the bench, and a couple seconds later, its in the back of their net.It was an interesting play.Game 7 shouldnt be any less interesting. Emotions will run high, bodies will be flying, and skin will be bruising. The Capitals and Islanders are 1-2 in hits this postseason, and with a berth in the second round on the line at Verizon Center, very little figures to change.If Game 6 was Nassau Coliseums swan song, the Islanders sent it out in style.But if the Capitals lose their cool again at the wrong time, one more Rangers-Islanders series in the old barn will be in the offing, which would be fitting.Its a new game; you have to stay focused, stay disciplined, Martin said. I think whoever controls their emotions the best is probably going to win the series.If we just play the way we did tonight, I like our chances.All statistics via NHL.com. All in-game analytics via NaturalStatTrick.com.Dave Lozo covers the NHL for Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter: @DaveLozo.
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