The New Jersey Devils fought hard, but did come away with a deserved point. They suffered an overtime loss, 4-3, to the Washington Capitals. They drop to 20-16-2 on the season.
Game Recap
First Period
This was the exact type of start you wanted to see the Devils have. They didn’t score a goal right out the gate, but did have the game’s first eight shots on goal. They came close to scoring on a few occasions, with a bank shot off Logan Thompson almost going in and Jack Hughes was robbed right on the doorstep. Jake Allen began getting tested and even came up big against two odd man rushes. Moments later, Cody Glass found himself open in the slot and was robbed by Thompson with a great glove save.
However, in a shocking turn of events, the Capitals scored the first goal of the game. Or so they thought. Off a great transition breakout play and zone entry, an Aliaksei Protas shot deflected off the pad of Jake Allen and deflected right to Dylan Strome. The Devils challenged for offsides and was successful, so back to a scoreless game.
Though, with time expiring in the period, Protas did punch home a one timer past Allen with 0.4 seconds left on the clock. A gut punch for the Devils who played a good period of hockey.
The Devils put forth a strong period. They held the edge in shot attempts 22-18, shots on goal 14-10, and generated more scoring chances. Furthermore, they generated 1.69 expected goals to the Capitals 1.06. Thompson slammed the door shut on them.
Second Period
After buzzing in the offensive zone, the Devils drew a penalty and got the first power play of the game. With the man advantage, they solved Thompson and broke the dam. A Luke Hughes shot caused a rebound that was picked up by Nico Hischier. He fed a cross ice pass over to Jesper Bratt who made no mistake firing it into the open net. The Devils would get another power play, but nothing came of it.
Towards the end of the period, the Devils went on the penalty kill. In the dying moments of the Capitals’ power play, Allen stopped a sure goal to keep things tied at one. The Capitals remained opportunistic, as Anthony Beauvillier score after a turnover by Jack Hughes in the defensive zone. Nico Hischier found himself alone on a breakaway, but was robbed with a sliding pad save by Thompson. The Devils headed to the third period down by one goal.
The Devils dominated that period at five-on-five. They out-attempted the Capitals 27-7 and outshot them 12-5. As a team, they generated 17 scoring chances and they found more success in the high-danger areas. Another stellar period with 1.98 expected goals generated.
Third Period
The Devils finally get rewarded for their efforts. In a span of 32 seconds the Devils scored two goals to take the lead for the first time this game. After a spinning around at the blue line, Bratt threw a harmless shot on net that found its way past Thompson to tie the game. Then chaos broke out.
Brenden Dillon lobbed a pass towards the neutral zone that was corralled by Connor Brown. Brown skated into the zone and went back and forth with Cody Glass. As the puck went into the corner, Brown threw a pass to Glass who slid it underneath Thompson. The lead was short lived, as the Capitals tied the game thanks to an open Alex Ovechkin right on the doorstep.
Both teams continued to trade chances, putting the pressure on both goaltenders. As the horn sounded, both teams were headed for overtime tied at three.
It was a full period played at five-on-five. The Capitals held the edge in shot attempts (23-15), shots on goal (13-8), and scoring chances with 12. Also, they held the Devils to zero high danger shot attempts. It was the lone period they dominated, highlighted by the expected goal differential of 1.44-0.55.
Overtime
The Capitals grabbed the extra point in overtime. On their lone chance of the overtime, Jakob Chychrun batted the rebound out of the air to secure the win for the Capitals.
Wrap Up
What a back and forth affair it was. Jesper Bratt broke his scoreless drought, scoring the team’s first two goals of the game. The Devils scored two goals in 32 seconds to take the lead, but Ovechkin continues to terrorize this team and tied the game. Chychrun scored in the overtime period and the Capitals evened the season series with the Devils.
Game Notes
- The good news is the Devils did get rewarded for their efforts. In all situations, the Devils generated 3.65 expected goals and scored three.
- Jesper Bratt was a machine. He finished the game with two points, but the on ice impacts were great. He finished with a 70.48 expected goals for percentage and a 69.23 Corsi for percentage. Both led the team.
What’s Next
The Devils hit the road and take on the Maple Leafs Tuesday night.