UNIONDALE, N.Y. – Mathew Barzal had three goals and two assists, Jordan Eberle scored twice, and the New York Islanders beat the Washington Capitals 8-4 Thursday night.
Brock Nelson, Casey Cizikas and Josh Bailey also scored to help the Islanders improve to 14-1-2 at home and move back into a tie with Washington and Pittsburgh atop the East Division with 50 points.
The Capitals have a game in hand on both the Islanders and Penguins. “These games are fun because you’ve got two intense teams,'' Islanders coach Barry Trotz said. ”Fortunately we were able to score some goals tonight." Semyon Varlamov made 22 saves for New York, improving to 8-3-1 in his last 12 decisions while allowing only 30 goals over that span.