NEW YORK — Brock Nelson and Anders Lee scored first-period goals, Mathew Barzal had three assists and Semyon Varlamov made 26 saves as the New York Islanders routed the playoff-bound Washington Capitals 5-1 on Thursday night.
J.G. Pageau, Kyle Palmieri and Josh Bailey added third-period goals for the Islanders, who swept a home-and-home series with the playoff-bound Capitals this week and improved to 20-15-5 at home.
The Islanders are 16-10-2 in their last 28 games but will conclude a disappointing campaign without a postseason berth at home Friday against Tampa Bay, the defending Stanley-Cup champions who defeated them last June in the semifinals.