Washington Capitals (43-23-7 93 pts) v. New Jersey Devils (27-38-9 63pts)
Game Recap:
The Washington Capitals conclude their four game road trip tonight as they travel to the Garden State to take on the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals started the scoring early as Andre Burakovsky put his 12th goal of the season in the back of the net at the 2:52 mark. The first period was an uneventful one until Kenny Agostino scored late in the period at the 19:59 mark. After the first period, the game would be tied 1-1.
However, the 2nd period saw a more offensive and dominate showing from the Capitals as they put three goals in the back of the Devils net. Goals in the 2nd period by the Capitals came from Brett Connolly, Evgeny Kuznetsov, & Tom Wilson. Brett Connolly scored his 20th goal on the season. This is the first time Brett Connolly has scored twenty goals in his career and is having his best offensive season yet. After a dominant second period, the Capitals would take a 4-1 lead over the Devils into the third period.
In the 3rd period, the depleted and struggling Devils were completely shutdown by the more dominant team in the Capitals as they finished off the game for the 4-1 victory. The Capitals return home tomorrow as they face the Tampa Bay Lightning for the second time in less than a week. The New Jersey Devils are next in action on Thursday at home against the Boston Bruins.
Lineups:
Washington Capitals:
Forwards:
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – TJ Oshie
Carl Hagelin – Lars Eller – Brett Connolly
Andre Burakovsky – Nic Dowd – Chandler Stephenson
Defenseman:
Michal Kempny – John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov – Matt Niskanen
Christian Djoos – Nic Jensen
Goalies:
Starter – Phoenix Copley
Back Up – Braden Holtby
Scratches: Dmitry Jaskin, Brooks Orpik, Travis Boyd
New Jersey Devils:
Forwards:
Blake Coleman – Travis Zajac – Stefan Noesen
Kenny Agostino – Kevin Rooney – Kyle Palmeiri
Drew Stafford – Blake Pietila – Joey Anderson
Eric Tangradi – Michael McLeod – Kurtis Gabriel
Defensemen:
Andy Greene – Damon Severson
Will Butcher – Connor Carrick
Egor Yakolev – Steven Santini
Goalies:
Starter – Mackenzie Blackwood
Back Up – Cory Schneider
Scratches: Nico Hischier (upper body, day-to-day); Jesper Bratt (lower body, week-to-week); Nathan Bastian (upper body); Miles Wood (broken ankle, practicing); Pavel Zacha (upper body, practicing, no contact); John Quenneville (upper body); Nick Lappin (healthy)
Injured: Taylor Hall
First Period:
Washington Goal – 2:52 – Andre Burakovsky (12) assisted by Nic Dowd (13) & Brett Connolly (22)
New Jersey Penalty – 9:59 – Kurtis Gabriel, 2 minutes for cross checking
New Jersey Goal – 19:59 – Kenny Agostino (6) unassisted
End of 1st – WAS – 1 NJ – 1
Shots 4 7
Faceoffs 9/19 10/19
Hits 6 9
PP 0/1 0/0
Second Period:
Washington Goal – 5:57 – Brett Connolly (20) assisted by Christian Djoos (7) & Carl Hagelin (10)
Washington Penalty – 6:34 – Lars Eller, 2 minutes for slashing
Washington Goal – 12:16 – Evgeny Kuznetsov (19) assisted by Jakub Vrana (23)
Washington Goal – 13:28 – Tom Wilson (21) assisted by Alex Ovechkin (34) & Nicklas Backstrom (50)
End of 2nd – WAS – 4 NJ- 1
Shots 13 12
Faceoffs 21/40 19/40
Hits 12 15
PP 0/1 0/1
Third Period:
Washington Penalty – 0:51 – Michal Kempny, 2 minutes for tripping
End of 3rd – WAS – 4 NJ – 1
Shots 22 21
Faceoffs 23/53 29/53
Hits 15 20
PP 0/1 0/2
Next Up:
Washington (43-23-7 93 pts) v.s Tampa Bay Lightning (56-13-4 116 pts)
New Jersey Devils (27-38-9 63 pts) v.s Boston Bruins (44-20-9 97 pts)
