The New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 7-3 on Thursday night at the Prudential Center. The Devils jumped out to an early lead, but faltered, allowing Washington back into the contest. Nonetheless, New Jersey pulled away in the second and third periods, earning a decisive victory over their division rival. With the win, the Devils improved to 39-34-2 while the Capitals fell to 38-29-9.

Game Recap

Period One

The Devils had the first Grade A opportunity with a net front chance by Lenni Hameenaho that Logan Thompson saved.

New Jersey gave up a breakaway, but Dylan Strome fired his shot wide.

The Devils broke through first, at 5:22, off a beautiful passing play between Nick Bjugstad, Hameenaho and Cody Glass, who buried the puck for his 16th goal of the season.

New Jersey kept the pressure on with an extended shift, and Dawson Mercer extended the lead at 7:37, finishing his own rebound. Timo Meier and Nico Hischier added assists.

The Devils mishandled a pass, and seconds later, at 8:15, Washington cut the lead in half off the stick of Cole Hutson. Hendrix Lapierre and Tom Wilson had the assists.

Brenden Dillon was tagged for tripping, and the Capitals tied the game at 9:47, after New Jersey left Pierre-Luc Dubois wide open in front of Jake Allen. Ryan Leonard and Wilson tallied assists.

The scoring barrage continued as the Devils answered back with a blast from the blueline by Dougie Hamilton at 18:19. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt had the assists.

Washington nearly answered back, but Luke Hughes made a great play in the blue paint to bail out a sprawling Allen.

The Devils were outshot 9-8 in the period.

Period Two

Washington went to an early power play after Meier was called for slashing, but the Devils killed it off.

The Devils went the other way and Bratt connected with Jack Hughes to extend the Devils’ lead at 9:10. Johnathan Kovacevic added the secondary assist.

Bratt found himself on a breakaway, but Thompson made the save to hold New Jersey’s lead at two.

Allen responded with a spectacular save of his own, flashing the leather on a shot from the slot.

Washington pressured with an extended shift, but Allen made the saves and the Devils survived.

New Jersey was outshot 14-9 in the frame.

Period Three

The Devils got their first man advantage of the night when Jack Hughes was hauled down by Leonard, but they couldn’t grab a 5th goal.

New Jersey had a few great chances just after the power play expired, but Thompson made the saves.

Washington got a power play soon after, and Connor Brown nearly scored on a shorthanded breakaway, but rang his shot off the crossbar.

The Devils killed the rest of the penalty and went the other way, where Jack Hughes scored his second goal of the night at 8:10. Bratt and Brown had the assists.

The Capitals answered right back when the Devils left Wilson wide open in the slot, costing them a goal at 9:33. Rasmus Sandin and Dubois had the assists.

The Devils went back to the power play with just over 8:30 left in regulation, and Bratt cashed in with a snap shot at 12:16 from Hischier and Jack Hughes.

Washington pulled their net minder with 3:30 left, and Mercer hit the empty net, icing the game with his second goal of the night.

The clock stopped for a scrum behind Allen between Glass and Lapierre, but the officials let the remaining two seconds run out, sending the Prudential Center crowd home happy.

The Devils were outshot 32-30 in the contest.

Takeaways

Hughes Advantage

Since his Golden Goal at the Milano Cortina Olympics, Jack Hughes has played some of the best hockey of his career. In 18 games since returning from Italy, he leads the NHL in assists and points.

He has tallied 12 goals and 20 assists for 32 points, putting him on a 146-point pace over the course of an 82-game season. Against Washington, he tallied his first career five-point night, including two goals and three assists.

More importantly, Hughes has elevated the play of those around him. The Devils are 11-7-0 since returning from the break and have scored over six goals in five of those games. The offense had been fumbling all season, but with Jack Hughes’ surge in scoring, the rest of the lineup has stepped up as well.

Bratt, for example, had been snake bitten leading up to the break, but also put together his first career five-point game on Thursday, all five coming in combination with Jack Hughes’ five points.

While this season hasn’t gone in New Jersey’s favor, the Devils are lucky to have a superstar talent like Jack Hughes to build around.

Up Next

The Devils are back in action on Saturday, April 4, at the Rock with the first game of a home-and-home series against the Montreal Canadiens.

The Canadiens sit third in the Atlantic Division with a 44-21-10 record and an 8-2-0 record in their past ten contests. Most recently, they defeated the New York Rangers 3-2 on Thursday night.

This is the second of three meetings between the Devils and Canadiens this season. The Devils won the first game, 4-3 in overtime on November 6th.

Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. EDT on MSG and NHLN.

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