Capitals pull away from Islanders in 3rd period

The Washington Capitals scored three goals in the third period to pull away for a 5-1 win against the New York Islanders at UBS Arena in Elmont, New York, on Saturday.

Dylan Strome and Anthony Mantha each had a goal and an assist, and Rasmus Sandin had three assists for the Capitals (32-28-7), who had lost two straight. Darcy Kuemper made 17 saves.
Washington is five points behind New York for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.
"I think it was the most complete team game, where everyone was pitching in and everyone's pulling on the rope, as we like to say here," Capitals forward T.J. Oshie said. "If we [have] more games like that, more complete games as a team, we might be right there at the end."

Pierre Engvall scored for the Islanders (34-26-8), who had their five-game point streak end (4-0-1). Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves.
New York is tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have played three fewer games, for the first wild card.
"I don't think we got to the net nearly good enough," Islanders coach Lane Lambert said. "We had 39 shot attempts that were either blocked or missed the net, plus I thought we passed up some shots as well."
New York was 0-for-5 on the power play.
"Certainly on a night like that you need your power play to get you going," Lambert said. "Obviously, we didn't generate a whole lot on the power play. Little bit of trouble breaking the pucks out, and I didn't think we were crisp and sharp."

Engvall gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 5:18 of the first period when his backhand pass on a 2-on-1 deflected in off the swinging stick of Alexander Alexeyev.
Strome tied it 1-1 at 6:41, roofing a one-timer over Varlamov's blocker from the left circle.
Oshie gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 19:13, tapping in a centering pass from Sandin after being left all alone at the edge of the crease.
Sandin has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in four games with Washington since being acquired in a trade with the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28.
"I think I just feel confident," Sandin said. "I'm getting a very big opportunity from the coaches, and I feel like they really believe in me. … I'm just super excited to be here and just having a lot of fun out there."

Mantha made it 3-1 at 4:15 of the third period shortly after a power play expired. Alex Ovechkin couldn't control a pass from Strome in front, but the puck went to Mantha, who lifted in a shot over the raised left pad of Varlamov.
It was Mantha's first goal since Dec. 31 (20 games).
Nic Dowd extended the lead to 4-1 at 12:18, scoring through a screen from the high slot after the Islanders failed to clear the zone.
"It was good to get that first goal right away, and then the second one and then pull away in the third," Capitals coach Peter Laviolette said. "It was a good win, probably our best one in a while."

Nicklas Backstrom redirected Sandin's shot from the left point at 13:19 for the 5-1 final.
"We didn't create a whole lot tonight," Islanders captain Anders Lee said. "And then 2-1 going into the third, and it just got away from us. Trying to press, and a couple mistakes we made tonight ended up in the back of our net."
NOTES:Islanders forward Cal Clutterbuck had four hits in 12:36 of ice time after missing 20 games because of an upper-body injury. … The Islanders had outscored their opponents 17-1 in their previous 10 third periods. … Oshie has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in his past 12 games. … Capitals defenseman Nick Jensen was plus-1 in 19:13 of ice time after missing three games with an upper-body injury. … Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary had two shots and six hits in 21:26 after missing four games with a lower-body injury. … It was Engvall's first point in four games with New York since being acquired from the Maple Leafs on Feb. 28.