The New Jersey Devils (42-16-6) defeated the Washington Capitals (31-28-7) 3-2 in a shootout last night at Capital One Arena. The Devils were on their game for most of the night, but still had trouble putting away a hungry Washington squad. They had to overcome some bad luck and bad mistakes, but the Devils’ skill prevailed in the end.
Game Summary
First Period
New Jersey dominated play for much of the first period, controlling possession and firing the first six shots of the night. Alex Ovechkin took a slashing penalty early in the game, and the Devils got some nice opportunities on the power play, but nothing came of it.
The period continued much the same way, with the Devils putting on the pressure in the offensive zone, but without netting a goal. Eventually, the Capitals got their legs under them and, with seconds to play in the period, drew first blood with a trickler of a goal from Trevor Van-Riemsdyk.
Despite being down 1-0 going into the intermission, the Devils won the possession battle during the first period, putting up a 53.85 Corsi-for percentage (CF%) and a 78.89 expected goal percentage (xG%).
Second Period
The Devils got an early break in the second period when they were awarded a power play off a goalie interference call on Evgeny Kuznetsov. It was a soft call, Kuznetzov merely brushed past Akira Schmid, but the Devils took the opportunity nonetheless. The Capitals managed to kill off their second penalty of the night, frustrating a drought-stricken Jersey powerplay.
The special teams got a chance to redeem themselves a few minutes later after Tom Wilson took a holding call to put the Devils back on the man advantage. The top unit couldn’t get anything done but, then, it was Erik Haula who broke the dam with a pinball shot off Darcy Kuemper that found the back of the net.
A minute later, Dawson Mercer kept his point streak alive with a rebound goal off an initial shot from Tomas Tatar. Mercer is now on an 11-game point streak and has 11 goals and 18 points over that span. Washington didn’t let the Devils hold a lead for long, tying it up with a Dylan Strome goal that took an unlucky bounce from T.J. Oshie and landed on his stick. The period ended with the teams tied 2-2.
The teams played a much more even second frame, but the Devils still won the possession battle with a CF% of 50.00 and an xG% of 62.43.
Third Period
Nobody scored in the third period, but the game really started to open up in this frame. The Devils got some terrific chances and forced Darcy Kuemper to make some wicked saves. The Capitals’ defense hung on for dear life, but stymied New Jersey’s assault and enabled Washington to get some great chances of their own. The Devils buzzed in the Caps’ zone with time winding down, but they couldn’t finish their opponent off. Still tied at two, this game would require an overtime period.
The Devils played a very strong third period, achieving a 69.70 CF% and a 79.51 xG%.
Overtime
The Devils got possession first in the overtime period but soon coughed it up without getting a shot off. The puck went back and forth for a bit, with each team failing to capitalize on some great opportunities. The Devils had two separate breakaways, but couldn’t stuff it in. At one point, Akira Schmid had to make an epic same on a Washington odd-man rush.
Late in the overtime period, Timo Meier took a tripping penalty, putting Washington on a four-on-three power play for the last minute and change. Trapped in their own zone, the Devils managed to kill this off and send it to their feared enemy: the shootout.
Shootout
The Devils’ struggles in shootouts are well documented. Head coach Lindy Ruff started out with Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier, but none of them could fool Darcy Kuemper.
Fortunately, the Capitals were equally incompetent, failing to score with T.J. Ochie (a.k.a. “T.J. Sochi” for his epic shootout feat in the 2014 Sochi Olympics), Evgeny Kuznetsov, or Nicklas Backstrom.
In the fourth round, Alex Ovechkin missed a backhander wide, giving Timo Meier a chance to win the game on his first shootout chance as a Devil. He motored in at a good pace and wired a beautiful shot past Kuemper to win it for the Devils.
Results
After spinning their wheels over the past couple of games, the Devils had a good bounce-back night. Although they didn’t trounce their opponent, they controlled the pace of play and ultimately prevailed. Most importantly, they built some momentum for possibly their most important two games of the season: a back-to-back with Montreal and the much-feared Carolina Hurricanes.
The Devils now own a 42-16-6 record and hold 90 standings points, four behind the Metropolitan Division-leading Hurricanes. The Capitals, on the other hand, are 31-28-7, good for 69 points, five behind the Pittsburgh Penguins for the second wild card spot.
Game Notes
- Akira Schmid had a decent night starting in place of Vitek Vanecek. He let in a couple of unlucky goals, but finished with a .909 save percentage and came up clutch in the shootout, stopping every Capitals’ chance.
- The Devils made history by being the first team to put four Switzerland-born players on the ice in a game. Timo Meier, Akira Schmid, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Nico Hischier all got ice time for the Devils, a first for the NHL.
- Speaking of Timo Meier, he had a very solid night once again, including the shootout game winner. He posted a 71.43 CF% and a fantastic 89.83 xG%.
- Erik Haula scored New Jersey’s first goal of the game last night. He’s been red-hot as of late, with three goals and six points over his last three games. Haula has been snake-bitten for most of this season, shooting at just 4.5%. This recent stretch of good play has Devils fans hoping for more production from the player general managerTom Fitzgerald traded Pavel Zacha for.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Montreal Canadiens in the first game of a back-to-back on Saturday at 7:00 PM EST.