Dylan Strome and TJ Oshie scored goals in the first period, Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves and the Washington Capitals beat the New York Islanders 5-1 on Saturday.
Anthony Mantha, Nic Dowd and Nicklas Backstrom also scored in the third quarter for the Capitals, who improved to 4-2-1 in their last seven games following a six-game losing streak to further tighten the Conference playoff race. This. Rasmus Sandin had three assists and Trevor van Riemsdyk had two.
Pierre Engvall scored his first goal for the Islanders since being acquired at the trade deadline, and Semyon Varlamov finished with 22 saves as New York snapped a three-game winning streak.
The Islanders were coming off a 4-3 overtime win at Pittsburgh on Thursday, their eighth win of the season in a third-period comeback, but they couldn’t find any late magic against the Capitals, who pulled within five points. from the Islanders and Penguins for the two Eastern Conference wild cards.
After Engvall opened the scoring at 5:18 of the first, Strome and Oshie scored to put the Capitals ahead before the first intermission.
Engvall, acquired from Toronto on February 28 and playing in his fourth game with the Islanders, gave them an early boost with his unassisted goal, his 13th overall this season. Strome tied it by beating Varlamov at 6:41 with his 16th goal.
Oshie made it 2-1 with his 17th goal with 47 seconds left in the first. He has 10 points in the last eight games.
After a goalless second half, Mantha made it 3-1 at 4:15 of the third with his 10th goal.
Dowd made it 4–1 at 12:18 with his 11th before Backstrom completed the scoring with his fourth at 13:19.
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With the win, the Capitals improved to 11-6-2 against Metropolitan Division opponents this season.
The Islanders are 4-1-1 in their last six games and 11-4-3 since Jan. 27.
As part of their 50th anniversary season celebration, the Islanders honored Hall of Fame center Bryan Trottier, who played for all four Stanley Cup-winning teams between 1980 and 1983. Trottier is the franchise leader in games played with 1,123. His 1,353 points, including 500 goals, in 15 seasons with the Islanders is also a team record.
Islanders forward Zach Parise, 38, played in his 150th consecutive game as an Islander. He has played in every game since he joined the team in October 2021. Parise has 16 goals and 10 assists in 68 games this season.
GRADES: Earlier Saturday, the Capitals re-signed D van Riemsdyk to a three-year, $9 million contract that carries a $3 million annual salary cap. … Islanders F Cal Clutterbuck returned to the lineup for the first time since Jan. 19 after missing 20 games. … Islanders F Matt Martin played his 752nd game for the Islanders to tie Mike Bossy for seventh on the franchise list.
Capitals: At the New York Rangers on Tuesday night.
Islanders: In Los Angeles on Tuesday night to open a three-game trip to the West Coast.
