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UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) - Alexander Ovechkin scored at 2:07 of overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 3-2 victory over the New York Islanders on Saturday.
Ovechkin's goal came after Washington tied the game with a short-handed goal by Nicklas Backstrom 49 seconds left in the third period.
The Islanders seemed poised for their first win in six games after Thomas Vanek gave them a 2-1 lead with just under two minutes left.
The loss was the sixth straight for the Islanders and their 11th defeat in 13 games.
The goal was Ovechkin's 21st of the season. Braden Holtby made 37 saves for the Capitals.
Vanek's score off a goal-mouth scramble appeared to give the Islanders a win for the first time in two weeks.
They appeared secure when Mike Green took an interference penalty at 18:50, but Backstrom slid the puck past Islanders goaltender Anders Nilsson for his sixth goal of the season to tie the score.
Aaron Volpatti's goal at 8:58 of the middle period put Washington ahead 1-0. Tom Wilson and Martin Erat assisted on Volpatti's second goal of the season.
Cal Clutterbuck's short-handed breakaway goal at 3:59 of the third woke up the crowd at Nassau Coliseum. Clutterbuck broke in alone on Holtby and beat the goaltender to the glove side for his third goal of the season.
The Islanders have been on a spiral since beating Boston on Nov. 2 to move to 6-5-3
They are 2-11 since and 4-12 since they traded Matt Moulson and two draft picks to Buffalo for Vanek on Oct. 27.
The Islanders host Pittsburgh on Tuesday before a five-game trip against Western Conference teams. All five opponents on the trip are among the top seven teams in the conference.
The Capitals (14-11-2) won their second straight after a four-game losing streak.
The Islanders and Capitals play close games, as 17 of the past 25 games between them have been decided by one goal. Washington is 13-1-3 in those games.
The Caps are 17-5-3 against the Islanders since the start of the 2007-08 season, including their 6-2 over New York on Nov. 5 at Verizon Center.
Calvin de Haan made his season debut for the Islanders. The 22-year-old defenseman was recalled from AHL Bridgeport on Thanksgiving. A first round pick _ 12th overall _ in 2009, he previously played only one game for the Islanders in December 2011.
The Capitals recalled goaltender Philipp Grubauer from AHL Hershey to replace backup Michal Neuvirth, who stepped on puck during warmup on Friday and missed his scheduled start.
Notes: Washington also recalled defenseman Dmitry Orlov from Hershey, sending down center Michael Latta. ... The Capitals were without defensemen John Erskine (knee) and Jack Hillen (fractured tibia). ... The Islanders continued to be without defensemen Lubomir Visnovsky (concussion) and Brian Strait (upper body).
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