NEW YORK -- The longest homestand of the season for the New York Islanders began Jan. 19, when an interim head coach made his debut for the last-place team in the Eastern Conference and the mutual disdain between the Islanders and the Barclays Center was the type of open secret everyone knew about but didn't discuss.

A lot has changed over the last 12 days.

The Islanders remained red-hot Tuesday, when Ryan Strome scored the tie-breaking goal 6:31 into the third period of a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals at Barclays Center.

The Islanders (22-17-9) beat three top Eastern Conference teams -- the NHL-leading Capitals, the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens and the Columbus Blue Jackets, who have the second-most points in the East - in the final three games of a 5-0-1 homestand under interim head coach Doug Weight.

"The hole what was dug early -- we lost some tough games and (had) some tough scenarios," said Weight, who was promoted from assistant when Jack Capuano was fired on Jan. 17. "We're digging ourselves out. We said 'entering relevance' a week ago or 10 days ago. And I think we're in the conversation now."

One of Weight's first acts as coach was to ensure the standings were displayed in the locker room every day. Those standings have begun to look a lot friendlier towards the Islanders, who surged from last in the 16-team East to 11th during the homestand and will enter Wednesday three points behind the Philadelphia Flyers in the race for the second wild card.

"Every morning, they're on the boards," Strome said. "It's kind of been a little bit different. Sometimes, when you're down so much in the dumps, you need a little positivity. And when you keep creeping up like that, it feels good."

About the only negative surrounding the Islanders lately is their perpetually uncertain arena situation. Various outlets reported Monday that Barclays Center, where the Islanders began playing last season, wants to opt out of the lease prior to the 2018-19 season.

The Islanders entered Tuesday with the third-lowest average attendance in the NHL at 12,828. There were wide swaths of empty seats Tuesday, when the announced crowd was 11,240 in the 15,795-seat arena.

Players around the NHL have criticized the quality of the ice at Barclays while fans have not been happy with either the sight lines or with the longer commute from Long Island, where the Islanders played their first 42 seasons at Nassau Coliseum.

The reports Monday indicated the Islanders could try to move to a new arena in the area -- perhaps even Nassau Coliseum, which is being renovated by the management company that runs Barclays Center and scheduled to re-open in April.

"The future of the franchise is great," said an unusually curt Weight. "So I have no comment on it."

The Capitals took the lead Tuesday on Evgeny Kuznetsov's goal 4:41 into the first before the Islanders tied it 2:41 into the second, when Alan Quine put back the rebound of a shot by Andrew Ladd.

Islanders left winger Anthony Beauvillier set up the go-ahead goal by swiping the puck from Capitals center Jay Beagle behind the Washington net. Beauvillier passed to Brock Nelson, who dished across the goalmouth to Strome, who tucked a shot between the legs of goalie Philipp Grubauer.

"It was going to be a one mistake (game) and we made a mistake in our own end," Capitals head coach Barry Trotz said.

Johnny Boychuk added an empty-netter with 1:08 left for the Islanders before Alex Ovechkin scored for the Capitals with 46.5 seconds remaining.

Goalie Thomas Greiss, who ensured the homestand would be a memorable one by signing a three-year extension worth $10 million on Monday, made 28 saves, including 16 in the third.

"We've played pretty well," Strome said. "We've got to keep it going. We've got a tough schedule to end the year, a lot of work ahead. But it feels good to get those six games on the right side of the (ledger)."

Grubauer made 26 saves for the NHL-leading Capitals (33-11-6), who lost for just the fifth time in 18 games (13-4-1) since the end of the NHL's holiday break. Two of those losses have come at Barclays Center, where the Islanders handed Washington a 4-3 loss on Dec. 27.

"They played with a lot of desperation in their game," Trotz said of the Islanders. They're right in sort of playoff mode right now. You could tell."

NOTES: The Islanders scratched RW Cal Clutterbuck (lower body) and D Thomas Hickey (lower body) as well as RW Stephen Gionta. Hickey missed his second straight game while Clutterbuck sat with an injury he suffered against the Montreal Canadiens last Thursday. ... The Islanders played their 29th home game of the season on Tuesday. Only the Chicago Blackhawks have played as many games at home. ... The Capitals scratched D Taylor Chorney, D Christian Djoos and C Chandler Stephenson. Djoos and Stephenson were recalled Monday from AHL Hershey. ... Capitals D John Carlson returned to action after missing the previous six games with a lower-body injury.