Matt Niskanen lifts Capitals to fifth straight win

NEW YORK -- Matt Niskanen scored twice in the third period to help the Washington Capitals win their fifth straight game with a 4-2 victory against the New York Islanders at Barclays Center on Tuesday.
Niskanen scored his first of the season at 1:34 of the third period for the Capitals (18-7-3). Brett Connolly and Justin Williams scored goals and Braden Holtby made 26 saves.

"It's nice to see the puck go in," Niskanen. "The first one was maybe the best chance I've had all year, so I'm glad that one went in at least. My goal is to just keep putting myself in that position so I get opportunities. As a defenseman, you're going to have a string of luck I did tonight, and then you might go through a dry spell."
WATCH: All Capitals vs. Islanders highlights
Niskanen scored a power-play goal with 1:58 remaining for a 4-2 lead. It was his first two-goal game since March 4, 2014, when he played for the Pittsburgh Penguins.
"Matt is known more for his shutdown role so any time he gets a couple of goals, it's a feather in his play, and the guys were excited," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "They were trying to get him the third one."

Washington scored twice on its first four shots of the second period to take a 2-1 lead. Connolly, who was scratched the previous four games, scored at 2:09 when he deflected a pass from Lars Eller past Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak.
Williams made it 2-1 with a power-play goal at 7:37.
New York (11-12-5) did not have a shot on goal for the first 10:37 of the second period, but Nikolay Kulemin redirected Nick Leddy's shot at 10:41 to tie the game 2-2.
"This is the second game in a row we go into the third period tied 2-2 and we don't come away with a point," said Islanders center Casey Cizikas, who briefly left the game in the first minute of the first period after his left wrist was cut by teammate Anders Lee's skate. "It's definitely frustrating. We definitely have to find ways to win these games."

The Capitals trailed 1-0 at 9:32 of the first period when Brock Nelson took a pass from Cal Clutterbuck and scored on a wrist shot from just outside the right circle. It was his seventh of the season.
Holtby made 12 saves and did not allow a goal in the third period.
"I thought our team did a good job of simplifying and keeping things below their goal line, wearing them down and that's usually how we win games," Holtby said.
Halak made 34 saves for New York, which has lost back-to-back games in regulation after a six-game point streak (5-0-1).

Goal of the game

Niskanen scored his first goal since March 5 off a feed from Dmitry Orlov. Niskanen was in the right circle with no Islanders near him when his wrist shot went over Halak's shoulder.

Save of the game

Holtby stopped Josh Bailey with 11:07 remaining to preserve the Capitals' 3-2 lead. Bailey took a pass from Lee, who was behind the net, and faked a defender but his shot hit Holtby's shoulder.

Unsung performance of the game

Evgeny Kuznetsov assisted on each of the two power-play goals scored by Washington, including a pretty pass to get the primary assist on Niskanen's second goal.

Highlight of the game

With the game tied 2-2 and less than 10 seconds left in the second period following a John Tavares turnover in the neutral zone, the puck eventually found its way to Niskanen, whose one-timer was gloved by a screened Halak.

They said it

"We need to continue to have some consistency because you look at it, we're now 11 games over .500 and we're fourth in the division, and we're not even 30 games into the season. There are some good teams." -- Capitals coach Barry Trotz
"We know Chicago (Blackhawks) are a great team and it's not going to get an easier for us, so we just need to find a way (to win)." -- Islanders goalie Jaroslav Halak

Need to know

Kuznetsov has assists in five straight games. ... Washington is 5-for-10 on the power play in its past three games. ... Halak has given up eight goals in his past four periods of play.

What's next

Capitals:At the Carolina Hurricanes on Friday (7 p.m. ET; CSN-DC, FS-CR, NHL.TV)
Islanders:Host the Chicago Blackhawks on Thursday (7 p.m. ET; CSN-CH; MSG+, NHL.TV)