WASHINGTON -- Rookie center Evgeny Kuznetsov spent his first NHL season learning from one of the best centers in the league.

Two nights after watching Nicklas Backstrom record a game-winning goal for Washington in overtime, Kuznetsov took center stage Thursday night, scoring two goals and assisting on another to lead the Capitals to a 5-1 win over the New York Islanders in Game 5 of the Eastern Conference first-round playoff series.

Defenseman Karl Alzner, left winger Brooks Laich and right winger Jason Chimera also scored for the Capitals, who can clinch the best-of-seven series with a victory on Saturday at Nassau Coliseum in Uniondale, N.Y.

Center Josh Bailey scored the only goal for the Islanders, who are looking to stay alive in their final season in the 43-year-old Coliseum.

After three straight one-goal games, the Capitals dominated Game 5, scoring five unanswered goals after giving up the first goal.

Leading 2-1 after two periods, the Capitals chased Islanders goaltender Jaroslav Halak with three goals in the first nine minutes of the third period.

Kuznetsov, 22, showed his slick offensive skills, batting a puck out of the air for his first career playoff goal in the first period, then splitting the Islanders defense and sliding a backhander under Halak in the third period. He also set up a goal by Chimera to complete the scoring.

Halak allowed five goals on 35 shots before he was replaced by backup Michal Neuvirth with 11 minutes remaining in the third period.

The Capitals took a 2-1 lead 10:31 into the second period when Alzner scored his second goal of the series. Capitals right winger Troy Brouwer dug his own rebound out from under Halak, swung behind the net, and fed Alzner at the bottom of the left circle for a free shot at an unguarded net.

Just as they had in three of the first four games of the series, the Islanders got on the board first when Bailey snapped a shot from the left circle high over goaltender Braden Holtby's catching glove for his second goal of the series at the 5:48 mark.

The Capitals controlled much of the play after Bailey's goal and tied the score on Kuznetsov's first career playoff goal. The Russian rookie slid to the side of the net and batted left winger Marcus Johansson's shot out of the air and Halak at 9:05.

NOTES: With Islanders D Lubomir Visnovsky sidelined with a head injury, 21-year-old rookie D Griffin Reinhart made his playoff debut. Taken fourth overall in the 2012 draft, Reinhart played in just eight games for the Islanders in the regular season. He skated on a third pairing with D Thomas Hickey. ... New York C Mikhail Grabovski, sidelined since Feb. 19 with a concussion, returned to the lineup and played on a third line with LW Nikolay Kulemin and RW Ryan Strome. Grabovski took C Brock Nelson's spot in the lineup. ... Capitals LW Curtis Glencross was a healthy scratch for the second straight game. Rookie LW Andre Burakovsky took his place. ... Game 6 is set for Saturday in Uniondale, N.Y., where the Islanders could be playing their final game at the 43-year-old Nassau Coliseum.