Back from a lengthy road trip in which they won one of four games, the Caps were eager to get some home cooking in the District, where they play seven of eight games beginning with Saturday’s homestand opener against the New Jersey Devils. Once again, Washington played well enough to win but did not do so, dropping a 3-2 shootout decision to its Metro Division rivals.
Saturday’s loss is Washington’s eighth in its last 10 games (2-6-2). An unfortunate start put the Caps behind the eight ball early and had them chasing the game, which they were able to do successfully enough to squeeze a point out of the game with a late and spirited comeback.
“I thought we played well for large portions of that game,” begins Caps coach Spencer Carbery, “the third period being our best, or where we were rewarded for our efforts in that area, where we get two back.”
In their first game back home following an eight-day road trip, the Capitals’ start was suboptimal on Saturday against the Devils. Before the first television timeout of the first period, the Caps were whistled for a trio of minor penalties, and they trailed 1-0 on Arseny Gritsyuk’s power-play goal at 5:05 of the first, late in the second of those infractions.
“The start was probably as bad as you can script it,” says Carbery, “for taking three penalties in the first six minutes, not a recipe for a penalty kill that’s struggling to throw them into that spot right there.”
The Caps spent more than half of the first 10 minutes of the game on the penalty kill, keeping several of their players stapled to the bench for that stretch. In the back half of the initial period, Washington spent a bit more time in the offensive zone, but it didn’t really threaten Devils goaltender Jake Allen.
Most of the Caps’ first-period shots came from distance; the only one of the eight shots they put on Allen in the opening frame that came from inside of 30 feet away was an Aliaksei Protas tip try in the back half of the period.
Soon after that Protas tip attempt, the Devils doubled their lead when Luke Hughes snapped a shot past Logan Thompson from the high slot at 17:46.
The Caps increased their offensive zone time in the second period, but again most of their shots were coming from distance, and those weren’t leading to rebound opportunities, at least not at even strength. Early in the second, Hendrix Lapierre carved in and tested Allen, then collected his own rebound and got a second shot off that the veteran goaltender also stopped.
In the game’s first 40 minutes, the Caps managed 19 shots on net, but that total was deceiving. Only four of those shots came from forwards who were inside of 30 feet from the New Jersey net, and the most threatening of those shots came on the lone Washington power play of the game, a rebound chance for Dylan Strome, which resulted in Allen’s best stop of the evening to that point, a left pad denial from 14 feet away.
Thompson made back-to-back denials of Jesper Bratt and Nico Hischier, respectively, early in the second, keeping the deficit at two on a pair of shots that came from just outside the paint.
Heading into the third period down two goals for the second consecutive game, the Caps did exactly as they did two nights earlier in Florida; they shrunk the deficit to one with a goal in the first minute of the final frame.
The Strome line hopped over the boards and established possession in the New Jersey end, and it began to put some rubber toward Allen, who lost hold of his stick as the Caps buzzed around him. Alex Ovechkin threw a perfect feed to Connor McMichael in the slot, and the latter buried the best look Washington generated to that point of the game, cutting the lead in half exactly a minute into the third.
McMichael’s first goal in 10 games was a big one, and it sparked the team while taking a weight off his shoulders as well.
“It felt great,” says McMichael. “I obviously haven’t been playing at the level that I want to, and anytime you can help the team win and find the back of the net, it’s huge. It felt like a lot of weight off my shoulders there.”
McMichael had another excellent look on his very next shift.
Thursday’s comeback bid in Florida fell short, but on this night the Capitals were able to find an equalizer in the third.
The Caps had the Saturday night Capital One Arena crowd buzzing as well, McMichael’s goal gave them momentum and put the banged-up Devils on their heels. Taking advantage of a sloppy New Jersey line change just after the five-minute mark of the third, Tom Wilson broke in on a breakaway, but he bounced his shot off the left post.
Minutes later, Allen thwarted Justin Sourdif’s try from the top of the paint. Ten seconds later, the Caps evened it up.
After Washington won a left dot draw in the offensive zone, Ovechkin parked himself above the paint in front of Allen. McMichael and Strome made a little exchange in the right circle, and then McMichael returned the favor to the captain, issuing a setup feed that Ovechkin swept past Allen to square the score at 2-2 at 8:29.
Strome picked up his 400th career NHL point with the secondary helper on Ovechkin’s 902nd career NHL goal.
Despite outplaying the Devils throughout the third period, the Caps couldn’t take the lead. They wound up generating a couple of good looks in overtime, but needed Thompson to make five saves, including a dazzler on Bratt from in tight.
“You could tell in the third period, it was like a different animal,” says Strome of his line sparking the late comeback. “Fun to just tag along for the ride in the third period. We got some chances and created some opportunities. I thought [Ovechkin] was outstanding, as he is most nights.
“He’s fun to play with, and it’s my job to get him the puck in better areas; I missed him about five or six times tonight. Those are good chances that we can have that can create some more goals for us, and ultimately, it’s on us. We’re just a little short right now.”
New Jersey prevailed in the four-round shootout, with defenseman Simon Nemec supplying the game-winner, three nights after he filled a hat trick in overtime in Chicago to win that game for the Devils.
Saturday’s win gives New Jersey – which played the game with a lengthy list of injured players – two wins in as many games on a five-game road trip.
“I don’t know if it’s a statement game or anything; I think we’ve been makings statements all year,” says Devils coach Sheldon Keefe. “We know we’re a good team, we believe in our group, and we’re not a one-man team. We’ve been dealing with adversity and injury all season long and finding ways to get points and stay alive in games.”
