Two-goal burst helps Isles edge Caps
NEW YORK -- Andrew Ladd and Anders Lee scored 43 seconds apart in the third period Tuesday night as the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 4-3 at Barclays Center.
Ladd's goal -- in which he tapped home a pass from Alan Quine -- was in the process of being announced when Lee picked up a loose puck at center ice and beat Braden Holtby on a breakaway as the capacity crowd of 15,795 roared.
Ladd also scored in the second period while Cal Clutterbuck scored in the first for the Islanders (14-14-6), who have won three straight to move within 10 points of the Capitals in the Eastern Conference wild card race. It was the first two-goal game for Ladd since he signed a seven-year contract with New York in July.
Goalie Jaroslav Halak made 31 saves.
Justin Williams scored in the first period while Alex Ovechkin and Andre Burakovsky scored in the third for the Capitals (20-9-4), who have lost three of four (1-2-1). Washington had two power plays in the final six minutes but failed to score the tying goal
Holtby recorded 27 saves.
The Islanders took the lead 8:02 into the first thanks to an impressive individual effort by Nikolay Kulemin and attentiveness by Clutterbuck.
Kulemin raced up the right side of the ice and managed to get a shot off despite defenseman Matt Niskanen and center Nicklas Backstrom trying to poke the puck away from behind and to his left. Kulemin's shot bounced off the post, but Clutterbuck eluded Niskanen and put the rebound home.
The Capitals tied the score with their own second-effort goal at the 13:24 mark. Williams was turned back by Halak on a semi-breakaway but remained near the goalmouth as the puck skittered to Alex Ovechkin. Williams redirected Ovechkin's shot, which fluttered past Halak.
The Islanders squandered three power-play chances in the second before taking the lead on an even-strength goal with 5:57 remaining. Thomas Hickey passed across the goalmouth to a wide-open Ladd, who tucked the puck into the corner of the net.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched C Casey Cizikas (upper body), who missed his fifth straight game, as well as RW Stephen Gionta and G Thomas Greiss. Cizikas has yet to resume skating. With Greiss out, third-string G Jean-Francois Berube backed up starting G Jaroslav Halak. ... The Islanders have played an NHL-high 22 home games. ... The Capitals scratched D Taylor Chorney, LW Zachary Sanford and LW Daniel Winnik. ... Capitals G Braden Holtby started for the 11th time in the last 13 games.