Capitals 4, Islanders 3 (SO): Rookie Evgeny Kuznetsov scored in both regulation and the first round of the shootout while Braden Holtby denied all three attempts he faced in the bonus format as visiting Washington snapped a five-game winless streak.

After Holtby (35 saves) made a pad stop on Frans Nielsen, Kuznetsov slowly skated in on his shootout attempt and wired a shot that beat Evgeni Nabokov (26 saves) under the crossbar. Holtby preserved the victory by making a glove save on Ryan Strome in the second round before stopping Brock Nelson's backhanded bid to end the contest.

Nicklas Backstrom and Joel Ward also tallied in regulation for the Capitals, who moved within two points of Columbus for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference with four games remaining.

John Persson scored his first NHL goal whle Nielsen and Cal Clutterbuck also tallied for the Islanders, who saw their three-game winning streak come to an end but extended their point run to seven contests (5-0-2). Michael Grabner notched an assist in his return from a concussion.

Washington captain Alex Ovechkin's sharp-angle shot from the left faceoff circle deflected off the chest of Islanders defenseman Calvin de Haan, allowing Backstrom to score at 12:45 of the second and trim New York's lead to 3-2. Ward cleaned up a rebound 2:16 later to forge a tie.

GAME NOTEBOOK: Playing in his fifth NHL game, Persson's milestone goal at 4:16 of the second period gave New York a 2-1 lead. Islanders D Travis Hamonic skated in from the right wing and chipped the puck to Persson, who backhanded a shot past Holtby. Nielsen doubled the advantage over 5 1/2 minutes later with a one-timer from deep in the right circle. ... Washington D Mike Green suffered an upper-body injury in the first period and did not return. ... The Islanders sent C Johan Sundstrom back to Bridgeport of the American Hockey League. ... Capitals LW Dustin Penner sat out with an upper-body injury.