The Capitals rally with three unanswered goals, erasing an early Islanders lead. Missed opportunities haunt New York in their second consecutive defeat.
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The New York Islanders dropped their second straight game, falling 4-1 to the Washington Capitals on Monday night.
David Rittich made 20 saves. Rookie Clay Stevenson made 29 saves.
The Capitals are now two points back of the Islanders, who have one game in hand.
Here's how it happened:
Mathew Barzal gave the Islanders a 1-0 lead at 16:38 of the first period after he got a gift from Tom Wilson:
The Islanders failed to add to their lead and saw the Capitals take a 2-1 lead within a 31-second span in the second period.
First, it was Capitals defenseman Martin Fehervary beating Rittich five-hole through a screen at 5:29 of the second before Beauvillier wrapped one past an out-of-position Rittich at the six-minute mark of the middle frame.
The Islanders, like we saw in the second period of their 4-3 loss to the Nashville Predators on Saturday, struggled to do everything. Despite their breakout issues and neutral zone play, they garnered chances.
Simon Holmstrom missed the net on a backhand semi-breakaway try before Horvat failed to score on his second breakway of the game, with Stevenson getting the shaft of his stick on a blocker-side try.
At 8:46 of the second, Nic Dowd's backdoor pass banked off Tony DeAngelo's skate and in to give the Capitals a 3-1 lead.
Roy pulled Rittich with 5:17 to go in the third, with John Carlson adding an empty-net tally at 17:35 for the 4-1 final.
UP NEXT: The Islanders battle the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night at 7:30 PM.