{"id":537951,"date":"2026-04-03T05:22:12","date_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:22:12","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537951\/"},"modified":"2026-04-03T05:22:12","modified_gmt":"2026-04-03T05:22:12","slug":"devils-dominate-capitals-with-7-goal-outburst","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/537951\/","title":{"rendered":"Devils Dominate Capitals with 7-Goal Outburst"},"content":{"rendered":"

Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a<\/a><\/p>\n

\"AnThe Devils’ offensive onslaught overwhelms the Capitals in a thrilling, high-scoring affair.Columbus Today<\/p>\n

The New Jersey Devils scored seven unanswered goals, including two from Dawson Mercer, to defeat the Washington Capitals 7-3 in a high-scoring affair. Jack Hughes and Jesper Bratt each tallied a goal and four assists for the Devils, who are making a late-season push for a playoff spot.<\/p>\n

Why it matters<\/p>\n

The win keeps the Devils in the hunt for a wild card spot in the Eastern Conference, while the Capitals missed an opportunity to gain ground on the teams ahead of them in the standings. This game showcased the offensive firepower of the Devils, who have been led by the stellar play of Hughes and Bratt down the stretch.<\/p>\n

The details<\/p>\n

The Devils jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the first period on goals by Cody Glass and Mercer, but the Capitals responded with tallies from Cole Hutson and Pierre-Luc Dubois to tie it. Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes (twice), and Bratt then scored for New Jersey to pull away. Tom Wilson scored a late goal for Washington, but Mercer added an empty-netter to seal the victory.<\/p>\n

The game was played on April 2, 2026.The Devils scored four unanswered goals in the second and third periods to break the game open.<\/p>\n

The players<\/p>\n

Jack Hughes<\/p>\n

The 24-year-old center for the New Jersey Devils, who recorded a goal and four assists in the win.<\/p>\n

Jesper Bratt<\/p>\n

The 28-year-old winger for the New Jersey Devils, who also had a goal and four assists in the victory.<\/p>\n

Dawson Mercer<\/p>\n

The 22-year-old forward for the New Jersey Devils, who scored two goals, including the 100th of his NHL career.<\/p>\n

Tom Wilson<\/p>\n

The 33-year-old winger for the Washington Capitals, who scored a goal in the loss.<\/p>\n

Logan Thompson<\/p>\n

The 25-year-old goaltender for the Washington Capitals, who made 22 saves in the game.<\/p>\n

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\n What they\u2019re saying<\/p>\n

\u201cWe knew we had to come out strong and set the tone early. The guys did a great job of executing our game plan and not letting up, even when Washington made a push.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Nico Hischier, Devils Captain<\/p>\n

\u201cIt’s a tough loss, but we have to regroup and focus on the next one. We’re still in the hunt for a playoff spot, and games like this will only make us stronger down the stretch.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Tom Wilson, Capitals Forward<\/p>\n

What\u2019s next<\/p>\n

The Devils will look to build on this momentum when they host the Tampa Bay Lightning on April 4th. The Capitals, meanwhile, will try to bounce back when they visit the Columbus Blue Jackets on April 6th in a crucial game for their playoff aspirations.<\/p>\n

The takeaway<\/p>\n

This game showcased the offensive firepower of the New Jersey Devils, who are making a late-season push for a playoff spot in the Eastern Conference. The performance of young stars like Jack Hughes and Dawson Mercer bodes well for the Devils’ future, while the Capitals missed an opportunity to gain ground on the teams ahead of them in the standings.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Got story updates? Submit your updates here. \u203a The Devils’ offensive onslaught overwhelms the Capitals in a thrilling,…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":537952,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[5114],"tags":[191,5,4,190,109,5222],"class_list":{"0":"post-537951","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-washington-capitals","8":"tag-capitals","9":"tag-hockey","10":"tag-nhl","11":"tag-washington","12":"tag-washington-capitals","13":"tag-washingtoncapitals"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537951","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=537951"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/537951\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/537952"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=537951"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=537951"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nhl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=537951"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}