The New Jersey Devils lost 4-3 in overtime to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils were the better team most of the night, but couldn’t finish numerous grade-A opportunities that could have buried Washington in the first and second periods. With the loss, the Devils dropped to 20-16-2 while the Capitals improved to 20-13-5.

Game Recap

Period One

The Devils had the early edge, spending the first few shifts in the offensive zone and putting the first five shots of the game on Logan Thompson.

Washington had a brief shift that forced the Devils to defend, but they didn’t allow a shot through to Jake Allen.

New Jersey went the other way and put together another strong O-zone shift. Thompson was all over the place, leaving rebounds up for grabs, but they couldn’t grab the early lead despite nine shots and multiple grade-A attempts.

The ice opened up, and suddenly, both teams had opportunities off the rush as the pace of play ramped up.

The Devils responded with another o-zone shift, but the Capitals appeared to strike first. New Jersey challenged the play for being offside, and the goal was disallowed.

Luke Hughes and Nico Hischier had two chances off the rush, but Thompson held them off the board. Again, the Devils surged with chances in close by Cody Glass and Connor Brown, but the scoring woes persisted as New Jersey couldn’t seem to buy a goal.

After a scrum, the teams skated with four aside, but neither could break through.

The Devils looked to enter the intermission tied, but a shot flung toward the net found Aliaksei Protas, who redirected it past Allen with under half a second left to play. Alexander Ovechkin had the lone assist.

The Devils outshot Washington 15-11 in a strong first 20 minutes, but found themselves down a goal after one.

Period Two

New Jersey opened the period with a few rush chances, but got nothing to show for it on the scoreboard. The Devils surged again, with more great opportunities that they couldn’t bury.

Again, the Devils had an extended shift with numerous chances but no luck in their favor. While they didn’t get the goal, they did draw a penalty, earning their first power play of the game.

New Jersey worked quickly on the power play and cashed in at 4:56, with a much-needed goal from Jesper Bratt, his seventh of the season. Hischier and Stefan Noesen had the assists.

The Devils went right back to work with chances from Arseny Gritsyuk and Brenden Dillon that Thompson fought off as the Capitals struggled even to touch the puck.

With more zone time, Washington took another penalty, and New Jersey went right back to the power play. The Devils had a hard time setting up their second power play, but got a few chances toward the end. The score remained tied.

New Jersey had another extended O-zone shift after Gritsyuk won a board battle behind Thompson, and they got a few more chances through to the net as they pushed for the lead.

Dawson Mercer had a wide-open, point-blank shot saved by Thompson as they continued to dominate play.

Washington got its first power play on a weak interference call that sent Glass to the box. The Devils killed it off, despite allowing chances after Dillon’s stick snapped on a clearing attempt.

Against the flow of play, the Capitals went back in front after Jack Hughes lost the puck in front of the net, giving Anthony Beauvillier a late goal at 17:33. Protas had the only assist.

Hischier nearly tied the game on a breakaway, but Thompson made the stop with his toe before Washington threw the puck into the benches to get a stoppage.

The Devils outshot Washington 14-7 in the middle frame but remained down by one heading into the third.

Period Three

The Devils weren’t as dominant to begin the third, but they found their footing and began controlling play around five minutes into the third.

New Jersey pressed and was rewarded at 7:00 with a shot from the blue line through a screen by Bratt that beat Thompson. The tally was unassisted.

The Devils went right back to work and grabbed their first lead of the contest just 30 seconds later, thanks to a series of cross-crease passes between Glass and Brown that Glass buried at 7:32. Dillon added a secondary assist.

The Devils nearly grabbed a third goal in quick succession, but Hischier’s shot rang off the post and out.

Instead, the Capitals went the other way and tied the game at 9:17. Allen came out to challenge a point shot by Rasmus Sandin, who instead dished a pass to Ovechkin, who hit the nearly empty net. Protas had the secondary assist.

Washington had a slight edge after the goal, but the teams exchanged plenty of chances before the clock eventually expired, sending the game to overtime.

The Devils outshot the Capitals 37-31 in regulation.

Overtime

The Devils had early possession in overtime, but Washington gained control after Thompson fought off a shot from in close. Washington sent a shot wide, and the Devils regained the puck, skating circles around the O-zone looking for an opportunity.

New Jersey had all the momentum, but off the rush, Jakob Chychrun got the game-winner at 4:06 after Allen made an initial save, but the rebound ricocheted off the shaft of Chychrun’s stick and into the net. Nic Dowd and Dylan Strome were given the assists.

The Devils outshot Washington 38-33 in the full contest.

Takeaways

Scoreboard

The Devils did a lot of things well against Washington. Especially in the first and second periods, they were a step ahead and spent a large majority of their time in the O-zone. They forechecked and backchecked hard, won battles, dominated puck possession, and threw everything at the net, all elements of a winning process.

Nonetheless, the Devils didn’t get the result they deserved on the scoreboard. There were some key mistakes on the goals they allowed, particularly leaving Protas alone in front of the net on the first goal and the turnover on the second goal, but the Devils should be able to outscore those mistakes with the chances that they generate.

Before Saturday’s faceoff against Washington, the last time New Jersey scored more than two goals in a single contest was on December 13 against the Anaheim Ducks. While the chances have been there, the goal scoring hasn’t, and despite putting three on the board on Saturday, it was the same story again, given the chances they had.

The New Jersey Devils need to work on their puck retrieval, specifically at the net front. The rebounds were there against Thompson, as well as many of the goalies that they haven’t been able to solve, but they seem to struggle controlling those rebounds and getting high-quality second and third opportunities on sprawling net minders.

They did well getting pucks to the net and creating the opportunities for those high-danger rebound goals, but a bit more composure with the puck on their sticks could be beneficial in putting the puck wherever the goalie isn’t.

Up Next for the New Jersey Devils

The Devils have a few days off before they look to get back in the win column on Tuesday night when they take on the Toronto Maple Leafs at Scotiabank Arena.

This is the second of three meetings between the Devils and Maple Leafs this season. The Devils took the first contest 5-2 on October 21st.

The Maple Leafs have not had a good season, with a 17-15-5 record that leaves them second-to-last in the Eastern Conference. They are just 4-4-2 in their past ten contests, but defeated the Ottawa Senators 7-5 on Saturday night.

Toronto will play the Detroit Red Wings on Sunday night before the Devils arrive for Tuesday’s match.

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EST on MSG.

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