The Islanders have taken a lot of pride in their home-ice advantage during the final season at the Nassau Coliseum, but according to one Capitals fan, the home crowd took things too far during Sunday’s Game 3 Isles win.

In an open letter on his website, Nate “Igor” Smith said racist and homophobic remarks were made to his group of Washington fans and that his friend’s car was keyed in the Coliseum parking lot.

After the Islanders won in overtime, according to Smith’s note, “the fans around us started kicking our chairs and pounding on the seat backs on either side of our heads. The guys in front of us turned around and gave us the middle finger. As we left, I had people yell ‘[Bleep] you” in my face,” as well as anti-gay and African-American slurs.

The Islanders released a statement regarding the alleged incident on Monday.

“We are disappointed by the reported actions of a select group of fans that attended Game 3 on Sunday afternoon,” the statement read. “The alleged racist or homophobic remarks directed at several Washington Capitals fans are by no means associated with or supported by the New York Islanders organization. Islanders fans, who are made up of the best of the world’s melting pot, are some of the most respectful, passionate and knowledgeable in the NHL. The inappropriate actions of a few individuals does not represent Islanders fans as a whole. We expect our fans to continue to be the loudest and most respectful fans in the NHL.”

After the Islanders blew a two-goal lead in Game 2 to Washington, they talked about putting the demoralizing loss behind them before taking the ice again.

Now, the challenge will be doing the same thing following their dramatic Game 3 victory.

“You look at Game 2 and the way it went for us after winning Game 1, we didn’t play our best,” Tavares said on Monday at Nassau Coliseum. “So we want to be able to respond after a win much better than we did earlier in the series.”

And as important as Tavares and their other top players like Kyle Okposo and Jaroslav Halak will be, the Isles’ fourth line has a chance to set the tone for the game.

“You want to get a hit and make an impact early,” said Casey Cizikas, who, along with Matt Martin and Cal Clutterbuck made sure the Coliseum crowd got into Sunday’s game right away with several huge hits and solid play throughout. “That’s what our line’s job is. They’re a physical team. We have to play bigger than we are and stay on the body and finish checks.”

Coach Jack Capuano knows the Caps will be ready once again.

“They’re a veteran team,” Capuano said. “We’re gonna have to expect a pushback and we responded well to it [Sunday].”

Tavares, who scored the game-winner in overtime, was impressed with the line’s play throughout the match.

“They were physical all game,” Tavares said. “They didn’t give any of their guys time or space to make plays and they generated a lot of turnovers.”

Capuano is hoping for more of the same on Tuesday.

“They’re not a fancy line,” Capuano said. “They’re more of a meat-and-potatoes line. They play the right way.’’

The Islanders players aren’t the only ones still fairly new to the postseason. Capuano is, as well.

As usual, though, Capuano downplayed his role when asked about how much he’s grown since the Isles previous playoff series against the Penguins two years ago.

While he said making sure his team had the right matchups was a significant responsibility, he added there wasn’t much else he could do to impact the game.

“You make the adjustments to try to defuse the opponent’s strength and give your team the best chance to win a hockey game,” Capuano said. “After that, it’s all about the guys and the way they compete.”

Capuano continues to like what he’s seen from Okposo.

“He plays his best hockey when he plays with an edge,” Capuano said. “If you want have a chance to win a series, your best players have to be the best players. [Tavares] and [Okposo], guys that have been a while, have done that for us.”

While Ryan Strome has shown flashes during the series’ first three games, he’s also struggled at others.

“He’s been good, but he looked a little nervous at times in the third period [of Sunday’s win],” Capuano said.