Oshie scores brace to help Capitals tame Islanders, Penguins get the better of Leafs
>> NEW YORK: TJ Oshie scored twice, Dmitry Orlov and Nicklas Backstrom each had a goal and two assists, and the first-place Washington Capitals beat the struggling New York Islanders 7-3 on Thursday night.
Andrei Burakovsky added a goal and an assist, and Lars Eller and John Carlson also scored to help Washington improve to 10-4-3 in its last 17 games against the Islanders.
Evgeny Kuznetsov had three assists and Philipp Grubauer finished with 35 saves for his 11th win of the season.
Brock Nelson, Andrew Ladd and Ryan Pulock scored for the Islanders, who lost for the ninth time in 10 games (1-5-4).
Christopher Gibson started and gave up five goals on 12 shots before he was pulled midway through the second period. Jaroslav Halak came on and finished with eight saves.
The struggling Islanders have allowed a league-high 252 goals and are 15-23-8 since finishing November at 15-7-2.
In Montreal, Patric Hornqvist’s second goal of the game gave Pittsburgh the lead in the third period, and the Penguins went on to beat Montreal 5-3.
Phil Kessel, Evgeni Malkin and Bryan Rust also scored for Pittsburgh, who remain tied with Washington in points atop the Metropolitan Division. The Capitals, however, currently hold the tie-breaker with two games in hand.
Tristan Jarry made 17 saves for his 14th win of the season, while starter Matt Murray remains sidelined with a concussion.
Artturi Lehkonen, Paul Byron and Nicolas Deslauriers scored for Montreal, and Antti Niemi stopped 34 shots in his first regulation loss since Feb 14.
In Buffalo, James van Riemsdyk had two goals and an assist to lead Toronto past the hosts Sabres 5-2.
Connor Carrick, Tyler Bozak and Patrick Marleau also scored for the Maple Leafs, and Curtis McElhinney stopped 38 shots.
Meanwhile, Cam Atkinson scored a hat-trick to lead surging Columbus to their sixth straight victory, beating the Flyers 5-3.
In Sunrise, James Reimer tied a season high with 46 saves to lead Florida past Boston 3-0.
Nathan MacKinnon had two goals and an assist and Semyon Varlamov stopped 44 shots as Colorado defeated the Blues 4-1.
Kyle Connor scored twice to reach 25 goals this season and Winnipeg rebounded from a quick deficit to beat the Blackhawks 6-2.
In Glendale, Kevin Fiala and Kyle Turris each had a goal and assist in the third period, leading Nashville over Arizona 3-2.