Ryan Strome and Johnny Boychuk scored in the third period, Thomas Greiss made 28 saves and the Islanders beat the league-leading Washington Capitals 3-2 on Tuesday night.
Strome got his first goal since Dec. 31 to put New York up 2-1 6:31 into the period. Anthony Beauvillier stole the puck behind the Capitals net and passed it to Brock Nelson. The Islanders forward sent a quick pass to Strome, and he tapped it past goalie Philipp Grubauer.
Boychuk scored into an empty net with 1:08 left, and Alan Quine also scored for New York. The Islanders are 5-0-1 under interim coach Doug Weight since firing longtime boss Jack Capuano.
Greiss signed a three-year contract extension with the Islanders on Monday night.
Alex Ovechkin scored his 24th goal of the season with 47 seconds left, and Evgeny Kuznetsov also had a goal for Washington. Grubauer made 26 saves.
The Islanders have points in seven straight games and have pulled themselves out of the cellar and into the Eastern Conference playoff chase. They entered Tuesday trailing Philadelphia by five points for the final wild card and have played fewer games than most of the conference.
The Capitals jumped to a lead early in the first period when Kuznetsov scored his 10th goal of the season. Kuznetsov received a pass from Justin Williams and was able to snap a wrist shot from in front of the net.
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Kuznetsov has five goals in his last six games, including his first multigoal game of the season on Jan. 26 against New Jersey.
The Islanders tied it at 1 less than five minutes into the second period on the power play. Andrew Ladd fired a shot that ricocheted off the crossbar and went right to Quine, who put the puck right back in the net.
NOTES: This meeting in Brooklyn was the fifth and final time the Islanders and Capitals face each other this season. ... Greiss is 15-7-3 in 26 games this season, with a .928 save percentage and 2.24 goals against average. ... John Carlson returned to the Capitals lineup for the first time since Jan. 15. The defenseman has been out with a lower-body injury. ... D Thomas Hickey and F Cal Clutterbuck were both scratches for the Islanders due to lower-body injuries. Forward Stephen Gionta was a healthy scratch. ... Ds Taylor Chorney and Christian Djoos and F Chandler Stephenson were healthy scratches for the Capitals. Stephenson and Djoos were both called up from AHL Hershey on Monday.
UP NEXT
Islanders: Travel to Detroit for a game Friday night.
Capitals: Return home to Verizon Center to host Boston on Wednesday night.
