Isles top Caps to snap skid
NEW YORK -- Andrew Ladd and John Tavares scored less than a minute apart early in the second period Monday night as the New York Islanders snapped a three-game losing streak with a 3-1 win over the Washington Capitals at Barclays Center.
Brock Nelson scored in the first period for the Islanders (17-10-3), who vaulted past the idle New Jersey Devils into a tie for second place in the Metropolitan Division with the Capitals. Goalie Jaroslav Halak recorded 31 saves.
Dmitry Orlov scored in the third period for the Capitals (19-11-1), who had their season-high four-game winning streak halted as they lost for the second time in the last nine games (7-2-0).
Goalie Braden Holtby made nine saves before being chased after Tavares' goal put the Capitals into a 3-0 hole. Philipp Grubauer stopped all 17 shots he faced.
The Islanders, who allowed the opponent to score first in each of their previous five games, went ahead just 2:36 into the game. Holtby made a kick save of a shot by Cal Clutterbuck, but Nelson swooped in untouched and tucked a shot between his legs.
The Islanders appeared to double the lead with 4:36 remaining in the period, but Anders Lee's put-back of his own shot was waved off because he made contact with Holtby's pads.
There was no doubt about the two goals the Islanders scored to chase Holtby in a 58-second span early in the second. Ladd scored just 36 seconds after the faceoff when he took a cross-crease pass from Calvin de Haan and flicked his shot from the doorstep past Holtby.
Tavares, uncovered to the right of the net, extended the lead to 3-0 when he took Mathew Barzal's cross-ice pass and fired into the corner of the net as Holtby made a last-ditch dive at the puck.
The Capitals ended the shutout bid with 8:23 into the third, when Orlov went to one knee and fired a shot under Halak's glove.
NOTES: The Islanders scratched D Johnny Boychuk (lower body), who missed his third straight game, as well as C Shane Prince and C Alan Quine. ... Prince, who has been out all season with an ankle injury, was activated Sunday and loaned to Bridgeport of the AHL on a conditioning assignment. In a corresponding transaction, D Thomas Hickey (upper body) was placed on injured reserve, retroactive to Saturday. ... The Capitals scratched RW T.J. Oshie (upper body), who missed his third consecutive game, as well as D Taylor Chorney. ... Capitals G Braden Holtby was lifted from a game for the third time this season.