 On January 1, 2015, the Washington Capitals defeated the Chicago Blackhawks 3–2 in the annual NHL Winter Classic at Nationals Park in Washington, D.C.The Capitals finished in a second-place tie with the New York Islanders in the Metropolitan Division during the 2014–15 season and held home ice advantage in the first-round playoff series between the two, as they had defeated the Islanders in the season series with two home wins and two road overtime losses (in comparison, the Islanders had two home wins, one road loss and one road shootout loss).The teams split the first four games of the series, with the Islanders winning the first and third games, and the Capitals winning the second and fourth games.