Dylan Strome recorded his third career hat trick Tuesday night for the visiting Washington Capitals, who continued tuning up for the playoffs with a 3-1 win over the New York Islanders in the penultimate regular-season game for both teams.
Strome scored once in each period for the Capitals (51-21-9, 111 points), the Metropolitan Division champions who have clinched the Eastern Conference’s top seed in the Stanley Cup playoffs.
Strome’s big night pushed his goal total to 29, two more than his previous career high.
Alex Ovechkin, who broke Wayne Gretzky’s record by scoring his 895th career goal during the Capitals’ previous visit to Long Island on April 6, didn’t score Tuesday, though he had the primary assist on Strome’s second goal.
Charlie Lindgren made 32 saves as Washington won for just the fourth time in 11 games.
Hudson Fasching scored unassisted in the third for the Islanders (35-34-12, 82 points), who will miss the playoffs for the second time in the last seven seasons.
Goalie Ilya Sorokin made 33 saves as the Islanders lost for the 10th time in 13 games.
Islanders left winger Matt Martin, likely playing his final game at home after spending 14 of his 16 NHL seasons with the club, earned first-star honors despite going scoreless in 12:33.
Strome opened the scoring with a power-play goal at the 8:15 mark of the first, just 36 seconds after Tony DeAngelo was whistled for slashing. Pierre-Luc DuBois passed to Strome, who shuffled the puck a few steps in front of the blue line before firing a shot that sailed past Sorokin’s glove as he was screened by teammate Simon Holmstrom as well as the Capitals’ Tom Wilson.
Ovechkin forced the turnover and collected the lone assist on Strome’s second goal 7:52 into the second. Noah Dobson’s pass off the back boards bounced to Scott Mayfield, but the Islanders’ defenseman couldn’t control it before Ovechkin checked him. Ovechkin picked up the puck and sent a no-look pass to Strome, whose shot beat Sorokin glove-side as he was screened by Dobson and Anders Lee.
Fasching ended Lindgren’s shutout bid with 8:24 left when he threaded a puck through the crease. Strome closed out the hat trick by scoring an empty-netter with 1:11 remaining.
–Field Level Media
