Isles lose to Caps in SO; Rangers fall to Flyers

Evgeny Kuznetsov scored the deciding goal of the shootout, giving the visiting Washington Capitals a 1-0 win over the Islanders on Thursday night to reclaim sole possession of first place in the East Division.

Ilya Samsonov stopped 26 shots through overtime for his second shutout of the season and third of his career. Washington won for the seventh time in 11 games.

Semyon Varlamov, who had a 29-save shutout in the teams’ last meeting on April 6, finished with 28 saves through overtime in this one. However, he gave up two goals on three attempts in the shootout.

The Islanders fell one point behind the Capitals, tied for second place with Pittsburgh — which beat New Jersey 5-1. Boston is another three points back in fourth.

FLYERS 3, RANGERS 2

James van Riemsdyk scored two power-play goals and the visiting Philadelphia Flyers beat the Rangers 3-2 to snap a two-game slide.

Jakub Voracek scored the deciding goal for Philadelphia, and Brian Elliott made 33 saves. Ivan

Provorov had two assists.

Brendan Smith and Artemi Panarin scored for the Rangers, and Igor Shesterkin made 33 saves. The Rangers fell for the second straight game after four consecutive victories against the New Jersey Devils.

Former Rangers forward Kevin Hayes won an offensive-zone faceoff prior to van Riemsdyk deflecting Provorov’s shot from the point at 10:29 of the third period to give the Flyers a 2-1 lead. It was the second time in six chances Philadelphia converted on the man advantage.

Voracek extended the Flyers’ lead to two goals with a wrist shot that sailed past the glove of

Shesterkin at 14:07. Sean Couturier and Shayne Gostisbehere assisted.

Smith opened the scoring with a slap shot from the top of the right circle shortly after the Rangers’ power play expired at 9:55 of the first period. Miller and Filip Chytil assisted on the play.

Zac Jones picked up 9:45 of ice time in his NHL debut Thursday. Jones recently turned pro after leading the University of Massachusetts to the college championship this season. New York selected Jones in the third round of the 2019 NHL draft.

PENGUINS 5, DEVILS 1

Sidney Crosby and Bryan Rust each scored their 19th goals of the season and the Pittsburgh Penguins defeated the visiting Devils.

Kasperi Kapanen returned to Pittsburgh’s lineup after missing 13 games with a left foot injury and had a goal and an assist. Teddy Blueger scored a short-handed goal, and Cody Ceci also scored for the Penguins.

The teams also met Tuesday, when Pittsburgh became the first team in NHL history to win despite allowing six goals in the third period during a 7-6 victory.

Matt Tennyson scored for New Jersey, his first goal since Dec. 15, 2015, when he played for San Jose.