The New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 in a shootout on Saturday night in Washington, D.C. The Devils went into the game fresh off some tough injury news involving not only their superstar, Jack Hughes, but also Zack MacEwen and Cody Glass, who had both just returned to the lineup following previous injuries. It’s hard to know what to expect from a team in that kind of situation, but the Devils showed immense character for a gritty, well-fought victory. With the win, New Jersey improved to 13-4-1 while Washington fell to 8-8-2.
Game Recap
Period One
The Devils came out hot and fired the first two shots of the game on Logan Thompson. Dawson Mercer had speed through the neutral zone and drew a hooking penalty, sending New Jersey to the man advantage.
Jesper Bratt rang a shot off the post, and Thomspon made a good save on another shot from the circle before Ondrej Palat was caught with a high stick, giving the Devils a brief 5-on-3 power play plus another nearly two minutes of a man-advantage.
On the power play, the Devils opened the scoring with a heavy slap shot by Arseny Gritsyuk that beat Thompson up high at 5:05. Luke Hughes and Paul Cotter had the assists.
Washington took another penalty, hooking Mercer and giving New Jersey a third power play less than ten minutes into the contest. The power play looked strong, with excellent puck movement and shots from dangerous areas, but Thompson stood on his head to hold New Jersey’s lead at one.
The Capitals gained momentum from the penalty kill, and Jake Allen came up big to withstand the pressure.
Bratt had a breakaway opportunity but lost the handle and sent it wide. Luke Hughes found the puck seconds later and blasted it past Thompson at 17:46 for his first goal of the season. Brenden Dillon and Bratt had the assists.
On the same play, Bratt got hit into the boards from behind by Alex Ovechkin and was down on the ice for a while. He was slow to get to the bench, but didn’t go down the tunnel.
The Devils outshot Washington 14-8 in the opening frame.
Period Two
Bratt was on the ice to begin the second period.
The Devils, again, came out strong and pressured Washington in the early going. Washington had some zone time, but Jonas Siegenthaler stole the puck and sprang Bratt in on Thompson for a good scoring chance.
Gritsyuk and Mercer nearly connected on another attempt, but Thompson fought it off.
Juho Lammikko nearly scored on the backhand off a nice pass from Stefan Noesen, but sent the puck just wide.
The Devils were tagged for their first penalty of the game, a hooking call that Sheldon Keefe was not happy about. Nonetheless, New Jersey killed it off and even generated a few shorthanded looks.
Washington had more zone time, and Allen was up to the task, with most shots coming from the outside. The Devils answered with zone time of their own, but couldn’t get the puck through to Thompson.
The Devils were outshot 10-7 in the middle frame.
Period Three
It was a choppy start to the final period, with three straight icings by the Capitals.
Allen lost his stick with Washington in the zone, and the Devils scrambled, leaving Connor McMichael alone in front of the blue paint for a goal into a nearly empty net at 1:00. Ovechkin and Jakob Chychrun had the assists.
The Devils were on their heels, the most disconnected they had been all night. They were a bit slow with decision-making and were trying to force passes, giving Washington more zone time and forcing Allen to bail them out.
New Jersey managed a strong shift in the O-zone and put the pressure back on Thompson as they fired a flurry of shots toward the blue paint.
Allen was spectacular in the Devils’ net, but the Devils were running around in their zone, and eventually Ovechkin tied the contest at 8:29 with a spin-around shot flung on net from the slot. McMichael and Dylan Strome had the assists.
The Devils appeared to settle things down a bit as the clock dipped under eight minutes to go. They still struggled to gain offensive chances, but their zone breakouts were better, and Washington wasn’t able to set up camp in front of Allen like they had been doing.
Bratt had a strong drive to the net, and the Devils got a few looks, their first real pressure of the period.
The Devils mounted more pressure as the clock dipped under a minute to go, but couldn’t grab a late go-ahead goal, and for the fifth consecutive game, they went to overtime.
The Devils were outshot 29-26 in regulation.
Overtime
The Devils had the first two grade-A opportunities of overtime, with a shot by Timo Meier that rebounded right to Simon Nemec, but Thompson sold out for a sliding stop.
The puck went the other way, and Allen answered with a spectacular save of his own.
Luke Glendening won a faceoff, and the Devils nearly ended the game with the puck sitting near the blue paint, but they couldn’t jam it home. New Jersey had another chance, which Thompson fought off with his blocker.
New Jersey dominated the overtime period, outshooting Washington 5-2, but it wasn’t enough, and the game went to a shootout.
The shots were even at 31 apiece in 65 minutes of play.
Shootout
The Devils emerged from the shootout victorious, scoring twice in four rounds. Bratt made a nifty stick handle and roofed the puck over Thompson in the second round, and Nemec, fresh off his hat trick against the Blackhawks, grabbed the extra point for New Jersey, tucking the puck five-hole.
Strome was the lone scorer for Washington, beating Allen in the first round.
Takeaways
A Tale of Two Games
For the first two periods, the Devils played very well. The team has a major injury bug up and down the lineup, but they didn’t play like it. The center depth, in particular, is really hurting, but they made do with safe plays and relentless work along the boards through the first 40 minutes.
The team rallied around the injuries and came out with a simplified game plan that they executed really well, especially in the first. They moved their feet and were rewarded with a few early power plays as the Capitals struggled to keep pace. They funneled shots on net and had Washington scrambling around the zone, unable to maintain the puck.
Defensively, they held any offense that the Capitals created to the outside. Each defenseman stepped up and did well to make safe, smart plays that kept the puck in front of them and eliminated the high-risk plays that can sometimes lead to rush chances but also increase the risk of turnovers. With the lineup so jumbled, some level of predictability was necessary to allow players time to get used to new linemates and responsibilities.
For as good as the Devils played in the first two periods, the third was a different story. The Devils had panic in their game, and were trying to force plays that weren’t there. Passing wasn’t clean, and they had little to no puck possession, especially in the first ten minutes of the third.
In particular, their zone exits were not sharp and gave Washington way too much extended zone time, which, in turn, left players stuck on the ice for longer than normal shifts. They conceded two goals, but to their credit, found their footing in the back half of the frame and started generating some offense before overtime.
Finding A Way
It was by no means perfect, but after so much misfortune, particularly in the past few days, the team rallied and found a way to earn two points in the contest.
With the lineup as depleted as it is, the appearance of the game isn’t as important as it would be with everyone healthy. Mistakes are inevitable as players navigate new line mates, harder competition and in some cases, new positions.
For the Devils to stay afloat during this period of major injuries, they need to be opportunistic and continue to bend, but not break, which was the case in Washington. Saturday’s victory was more than just two points in the standings; it was a sign that even in the face of extreme adversity, the team remains a threat to win on any given day.
Found Nemo
Simon Nemec has stepped up in a big way when the team needed him most. Not only is he providing sound defense and consistent offense, but he has proven that he has the clutch gene.
Nemec has logged more ice time and faced tougher matchups with so many players on the back end sidelined, and has thrived in the elevated role. In the past three games, he has scored four times, plus the shootout winner in Washington.
On Monday against the Islanders, he scored with just seconds left on the clock to tie the game and earn New Jersey a point. On Wednesday in Chicago, he logged his first career hat trick, headlined by his overtime game-winner. He came through again in Washington, scoring on his first shootout attempt and securing the win for the Devils.
It is great to see another young defenseman for the Devils stepping into an elevated role and excelling, and the Devils will need him to stay hot as they navigate the next few weeks and months.
Injury Updates
The Devils won a game on Saturday, but the headlining story out of New Jersey was the loss of star forward Jack Hughes for roughly eight weeks. The team announced that Hughes underwent successful surgery on his finger, performed by Dr. Robert Hotchkiss at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City.
Various reports indicated that Hughes potentially leaned on a glass that shattered and sliced his hand, or he slipped and cut his hand on a piece of glass. Ryan Novozinsky of NJ.com also reported that Hughes quickly received stitches on what was described as a “deep wound”.
The story isn’t entirely clear and probably never will be, but regardless, the Devils are without their star for the time being.
Additionally, the Devils lost two more forwards in Cody Glass and Zack MacEwen, who were both injured in the first period against the Blackhawks. MacEwen was placed on injured reserve with a lower-body injury, while Glass is listed as week-to-week with an upper-body injury.
That is not the end of the injuries for the Devils. Dougie Hamilton (lower body) and Connor Brown (upper body) are expected to join practice on Monday and may join the team for the rest of the road trip.
Brett Pesce (upper body) was moved to long-term injured reserve on Saturday and isn’t expected back this month.
Johnathan Kovacevic (knee surgery) is skating but not expected to play until the new year.
Evgenii Dadonov (fractured hand) is progressing, but a return isn’t imminent.
Marc McLaughlin (undisclosed) is not close.
Up Next
The Devils’ road trip continues on Tuesday night when they travel back to Tampa Bay to take on the Lightning.
Tampa Bay sits fifth in the Atlantic Division with a 9-6-2 record. They are 8-2-0 in their past ten contests, most recently defeating the Florida Panthers 3-1 on Saturday evening. The Lightning will also play the Vancouver Canucks on Sunday before the Devils roll into town.
Tuesday’s contest is the second of three meetings between the Devils and Lightning this season. New Jersey came away with a 5-3 victory on October 11th, also at Benchmark International Arena.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on MSGSN and NHLN.
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