ELMONT, N.Y. — The ups and downs of a tight playoff race can make losses — even if they’ve been rare lately — feel worse than they might be.
The Islanders had a three-game winning streak and run of dominant third-period performances snapped in a 5-1 loss to the Capitals on Saturday night at UBS Arena.
The loss coupled with the Penguins’ 5-1 win over the visiting Flyers slid the Islanders (34-26-8) to the Eastern Conference’s second wild-card spot. The Islanders are still on a 6-2-1 run and have the same 76 points as the Penguins but have played three more games.
The Capitals (32-28-7) moved within five points of the Islanders as they swept the teams’ two games at UBS Arena. They play twice more in Washington.
The Islanders had started the week with crucial wins over the pursuing Sabres, 3-2 at UBS Arena on Tuesday night, and 4-3 in overtime in Pittsburgh on Thursday after entering the third period trailing by two.
The Islanders had outscored their opponents 17-1 in the third period over their previous 10 games.
But the Capitals blew open a close game with three third-period goals.
Semyon Varlamov, making his first start in five games, stopped 22 shots while the Capitals’ Darcy Kuemper only had to make 17 saves.
The Islanders took seven of their shots on five failed power plays.
Anthony Mantha gave the Capitals a 3-1 lead at 4:15 of the third period just as Casey Cizikas’ slashing penalty expired, roofing a shot from the right post.
Nic Dowd pushed it to 4-1 at 12:18 as he beat Varlamov from the high slot. Defenseman Rasmus Sandin also beat Varlamov with a long-range wrist shot to cap the scoring at 13:19.
The Islanders next open a three-game California swing against the Kings on Tuesday night.
Pierre Engvall, who started on Josh Bailey’s fourth line with the returning Cal Clutterbuck, opened the scoring as his two-on-one feed on a delayed call deflected in off the skate of Capitals defenseman Alexander Alexeyev at 5:18 of the first period. It was his first goal as an Islander in his fourth game since being acquired from the Maple Leafs for a third-round pick in 2024.
Engvall’s ice time was limited in the Islanders’ two previous games. He logged 12:24 in a 3-2 win over the visiting Sabres on Tuesday night was on the ice for just 8:23 in Thursday’s night’s 4-3 overtime win in Pittsburgh, getting just two shifts apiece in the third and third periods.
“He’s coming from Toronto where they’re kind of run-and-gun and a high-octane offense,” top-line center Bo Horvat said. “I think we play a little bit more defensive here so it’s going to take some time for him to adjust to that. He’s going to be fine, though.”
“It’s a little bit more straightforward here,” Engvall said. “I advance the puck forward more all the time. I think Toronto was more we’d make those small plays a little bit more. Coming out of the defensive zone we would try to find the middle, try to find the weak side. Here it’s more straightforward. That’s the big difference.”
But the lead Engvall’s goal provided lasted just 1 minute, 1 second. Dylan Strome beat Varlamov over his blocker from the left circle to tie the game at 1-1 and the Capitals took a 2-1 lead with 46.9 seconds left in the first period as T.J. Oshie got open in the low slot to tip in Sandin’s feed.
Engvall’s goal came on the Islanders’ fourth shot but they were not credited with another one in the first period and were being outshot 20-12 after two periods.
