The New Jersey Devils continue to pile on the victories. They continue to overcome their injury woes and defeated the Washington Capitals in the shootout Saturday night, 3-2. It’s the fifth time in a row the Devils have gone into either overtime or the shootout, but picking up the two points was massive.
Game Recap
First Period
The first period began with the Devils getting plenty of power play time. As the original opportunity was coming to a close, the Capitals found themselves down two men for eight seconds. The Capitals survived, but the Devils cashed in with the man advantage eventually.
With precise puck movement, Luke Hughes fed a pass over to Arseny Gritsyuk who fired a shot top shelf over Logan Thompson to make it 1-0. The Devils dominated this period and their speed paid dividends. They drew yet another penalty, giving them their third power play of the period. The Capitals killed off that ensuing power play and momentum went their way. As they generated chances, a sprawling Jake Allen found himself out of the crease causing chaos. But nothing came of it.
With just over two minutes left, the Devils extended the lead. After Timo Meier and Jesper Bratt skated in on an odd-man rush, Bratt missed on the breakaway attempt and took a vicious hit in the corner. The Devils maintained possession in the zone and Luke Hughes ripped a shot top shelf over Thompson to make it 2-0. That’s how the period ended and a sigh of relief Bratt made it to the bench on his own power.
The margins this period were slim when it came to five-on-five play. Shot attempts were 13-10 in favor of the Capitals and the shots were 8-7 in favor of the Devils. Neither team generated many chances in the high-danger areas of the ice, but the Devils did control the expected goals share at 56.94%.
Second Period
The second period saw the Capitals make more of an offensive push. Jake Allen stood tall, making numerous key saves. His best one was robbing Dylan Strome right on the door step. Moments later, Hendrix Lapierre had a high-danger chance that couldn’t find its way past Allen. A lot of momentum was built to end this period, but the Devils hung on to their 2-0 lead.
The Capitals put forth a more dominant period. They managed to control the shot attempts share 24-17 at five-on-five play. While they held the edge in quantity of shots taken, the Devils took more quality shots. Thompson put forth a better period, stopping 1.07 goals saved above expected.
Third Period
With all the momentum the Capitals built up to end the second period, it carried over into the third period. The Capitals tied the game by scoring two goals in a span of 7:30 minutes. The first goal was scored by Connor McMichael. Alexander Ovechkin fed a pass to a wide open McMichael who fired the puck into a wide open net as Allen was screened on the play. Over seven minutes after the first goal, Ovechkin shot a bouncing puck past Allen to tie things up.
Both teams managed to continue to trade chances. Each team was pressing hard and striving for that go ahead goal. Both teams earned one point, as they were headed for overtime.
The Devils got smothered and covered through the entire period. The Capitals out attempted them 17-5, outshot them 10-4, and dominated in expected goals 0.45-0.15 during five-on-five play. A lot of the period was played on special teams.
Overtime
What action did we witness during this overtime period. Both Thompson and Allen made game saving stops to keep this game going. The action was non-stop and both goalies stood tall. The game headed to a shootout. The Devils won in the shootout thanks to defenseman Simon Nemec. Jesper Bratt also scored a beautiful goal as well.
Wrap Up
The Devils won a game where the game went to a shootout or beyond for the fifth game in a row. Luke Hughes finished the game with a goal and an assist and Arseny Gritsyuk added a goal with the man advantage. The Capitals managed to tie things up, but Jake Allen helped secure a victory for the Devils to maintain their status at the top of the division. Simon Nemec continues to be a force and has helped the Devils in numerous ways this week.
Game Notes
- Jake Allen was rock solid for the Devils in net Saturday night. He stopped 30 of the 32 shots he faced, good for a .938 save percentage. Furthermore, he finished the game with a 1.22 goals saved above expected.
- The line of Nico Hischier, Timo Meier, and Jesper Bratt were active and helped soften the loss of Jack Hughes. The trio finished the game with a 54.57 xGF% and were on the ice for a goal. They generated eight scoring chances and controlled the high-danger areas of the ice.
What’s Next?
The Devils road trip continues down south into Florida as they take on the Lightning Tuesday night.