Introduction
The New Jersey Devils played the Washington Capitals in the second game of their back-to-back. The Devils were coming off a disappointing loss to the Buffalo Sabres where the Sabres seemed to dictate play throughout the first two periods until the Devils took over the third period.
Unfortunately, 20 minutes of good hockey was not enough to dig out of the three-nothing hole the Devils found themselves in after the first 40 minutes of play. Still, the Devils battled back to make the score 3-2 and had something positive to bring into the game against the Capitals.
The game in Washington was the 1,000th game that Travis Zajac had played in his career, all with the New Jersey Devils. The milestone places Zajac amongst the names of Patrik Elias, Martin Brodeur, and Mr. Devil himself, Ken Daneyko. The milestone was celebrated by all the players and surely provided an extra bit of energy to the players.
Recap
The Devils started Aaron Dell between the pipes while the Capitals started Craig Anderson. The game was originally supposed to be played at 7;00 PM ET but was moved up to 2:30 PM ET and was again, the second of a back-to-back for both teams.
The Devils kept pace with the Capitals for most of the game and were able to build a 2-0 lead despite not necessarily being the better team at five-on-five. Unfortunately, the Capitals would score four unanswered goals and would win the game 4-3 after the Devils were able to score with 11 seconds left after pulling the goalie in the final minute.
The Capitals
TJ Oshie scored twice for the Capitals and broke his scoring drought against the Devils. One goal was from an intentional deflection off a John Carlson shot from the point and the other was a wrist shot on the power play. John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin would also score for the Capitals.
The Devils
The Devils goal-scorers were Andreas Johnsson, Jack Hughes, and Nikita Gusev. The team could not hold the infamously dangerous two-goal lead and in turn dropped what would have been a very big two points in the division race.
While the outcome is disappointing, there were some bright spots to take away from this game. Not talking about moral victories, but rather just good things to see that hopefully lead to better results.
The Bad
The Devils played with fire and they were burned, very badly. While the Capitals may struggle with goals allowed this season, they definitely do not struggle with scoring goals. This is no surprise as the Capitals are loaded with talent.
A very important aspect for any team playing Washington is staying out of the box. The Devils did exactly the opposite of this as the team took too many penalties. And while they were able to kill off the first, the Capitals converted on the three following.
When you lose the game 4-3 after having a 2-0 lead, that’s a pretty good indicator of where things went wrong. Besides Washington having a strong power play squad, the Devils have struggled mightily when it comes to the penalty kill this season. It is becoming a quite glaring weakness in their game despite the solid five-on-five numbers.
While the Devils did struggle at five-on-five this game, they took advantage of their opportunities. If they stayed out of the penalty box, the team may have been able to steal this game from Washington.
The Good
Scoring Early
As mentioned before, the Devils opened the scoring early and were able to jump out to a 2-0 lead. Getting out to leads is something the Devils have struggled with.
Andreas Johnsson scored on the power play to give the Devils a 1-0 lead with assists from Kyle Palmieri and Pavel Zacha. This was followed by Jack Hughes scoring the second goal off an incredible two-way effort. Hughes skated hard on the back-check defensively, broke up the Capitals’ offensive pressure, then scored off a pass from Andreas Johnsson on his backhand.
Jack Hughes continues to show why he was taken first overall in his draft year. If Johnsson, Palmieri, Zacha, and Hughes all keep performing and contributing, it’ll bode well for the Devils’ offense being consistence.
Nikita Gusev
Nikita Gusev scored the Devils third goal with 11 seconds left in regulation. This while the Devils were playing six-on-five with the goaltender pulled. While the goal did not help tie the game and could be viewed as a “garbage-time goal,” this could potentially be a jump-starter for Gusev.
There is no denying that Gusev has not performed at the level many would expect him too so far this season. However, just maybe this goal can be a spark to help get him going.
Kyle Palmieri was struggling to start the season but broke out. It all started with just one goal. Since then, he seems to have started hitting his stride. Maybe, like Palmieri, this was just the spark Gusev needed.
Nico Hischier
One more positive to take away from this game is Nico Hischier getting closer to really being back. As was briefly mentioned on the most recent episode of Devils Army Cast, Nico is back. However, it will more than likely take a couple games for him to become fully up to speed with regard to stamina, reaction time, and chemistry. However, Hischier definitely looked to be stepping his game up against the Capitals. This despite the loss.
What’s Next?
The New Jersey Devils have the team’s next four games against the Buffalo Sabres and the Washington Capitals. The Devils have shown that they can play against these teams and in order to stay relevant in the playoff discussion in the Eastern Division this season. Taking six out of eight points would be huge. It would also be necessary in order to remain in the thick of a highly contested playoff race.
Obviously this is no easy task as the Devils learned that Buffalo is not a cake-walk and the Capitals are loaded and dangerous. These are, however, games where if the Devils are taking the next step forward they must be competitive in and win a majority.
The Devils will be in action again on Tuesday versus the Buffalo Sabres at 7:00 PM ET.