Washington Capitals (10-6-0 20pts) v. New Jersey Devils (13-6-0 26pts)
Game Recap:
After squeaking out a victory in Ottawa, the Washington Capitals head to New Jersey to battle the Devils, who also had an interesting Tuesday night in Winnipeg. This will mark the second meeting between these two teams this season, but the first time the Capitals will face Connor Hellebuyck in a Devils uniform.
After disappointingly sitting out against his former team, the Jets, Hellebuyck will look to extend his winning streak since joining the Devils to 6-0-0. However, the Capitals will look to play spoiler and hand Hellebuyck his first loss as a Devil.
In the first period, it would be a poor start for the Capitals as rookie defenseman Cole Hutson would take a holding penalty in the opening minute of the game. The Devils would capitalize on the powerplay as Evan Rodrigues would score to give New Jersey a 1-0 lead.
The Devils would continue to sustain pressure in the Capitals’ zone, forcing Logan Thompson to make some key saves to keep the Caps in the game during the early stages. Through the first eight minutes, the Devils would outshoot the Capitals 8-1, but at the nine-minute mark, the Caps would show some life as Boone Jenner would generate a quality scoring opportunity on a 2-on-1 to test Hellebuyck.
Jenner’s effort would help spark the Capitals’ offense as Aliaksei Protas would draw a tripping penalty against former Capital Declan Chisholm. On the powerplay, the Caps would generate some major offense, producing seven shots on goal, with Ryan Leonard scoring to tie the game at one and cap off the man-advantage.
In the second period, Pierre-Luc Dubois would score early to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead. Following the Dubois goal, both teams would generate chances and create plenty of traffic around Thompson and Hellebuyck. The Devils would eventually capitalize as Lenni Hameenaho would get a deflection past Thompson to tie the game at two.
Both teams would trade penalties, and while each side would generate some chances on their powerplay opportunities, both goaltenders would stand tall to keep the game tied at two heading into the third period.
Early in the third period, Timothy Liljegren would be called for tripping to put the Devils on their third powerplay of the game. Within the first 30 seconds of the man-advantage, there would be a scramble around the Capitals’ net, but the Devils would not get the call they wanted as the officials would rule it no goal due to a distinct kicking motion. Even if the goal had counted, the Capitals would have had a strong argument for goalie interference as Timo Meier would skate into the crease and knock into Thompson. Either way, the Devils would come away without a goal.
Moments later, Vladislav Kolyachonok would score a squeaker past Thompson to give the Devils a 3-2 lead. With three minutes left in regulation, the Capitals would get more aggressive, but it would cost them as Stefan Noesen would get a semi-breakaway opportunity and score on the backhand to extend the Devils’ lead to two.
The Capitals would pull Thompson for the extra attacker, but after multiple icings, Jack Hughes would net his tenth of the season with an empty-netter to give the Devils a 5-2 victory and take the first game of the home-and-home series.
Lineups:
Washington Capitals
Ryan Leonard — Dylan Strome — Jordan Kyrou
Aliaksei Protas — Pierre-Luc Dubois — Alex Tuch
Alex Ovechkin — Ilya Protas — Anthony Beauvillier
Boone Jenner — Justin Sourdif — Tom Wilson
Jakob Chychrun — Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary — Timothy Liljegren
Cole Hutson — Jack St. Ivany
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Ethen Frank, Ivan Miroshnichenko, Justin Holl
Injured: Rasmus Sandin (knee), Vincent Desharnais (appendectomy)
New Jersey Devils
Arseny Gritsyuk — Jack Hughes — Jesper Bratt
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Luke Evangelista
Stefan Noesen — Evan Rodrigues — Connor Brown
Jesper Boqvist — Cody Glass — Lenni Hameenaho
Jonas Seigenthaler — Luke Hughes
Declan Chisholm — Dougie Hamilton
Brenden Dillon — Vladislav Kolyachonok
Connor Hellebuyck
Jake Allen
Scratched: Amadeus Lombardi
Injured: Anthony Mantha (throat), Brett Pesce (ill), Johnathan Kovacevic (lower body)
First Period:
WAS Penalty – 0:41 – Cole Hutson – 2 minutes for Holding
NJ PPG – 2:20 – Evan Rodrigues (4) from Timo Meier (5) and Arseny Gritsyuk (7)
NJ Penalty – 12:13 – Declan Chisholm – 2 minutes for Tripping
WAS PPG – 14:10 – Ryan Leonard (6) from Cole Hutson (7) and Ilya Protas (6)
| End of First | WAS – 1 | NJ – 1 |
| Shots | 12 | 13 |
| Faceoff Wins | 12/17 | 5/17 |
| Hits | 9 | 2 |
| Powerplay | 1/1 | 1/1 |
Second Period:
WAS Goal – 02:11 – Pierre-Luc Dubois (4) from Aliaksei Protas (7) and Jack St. Ivany (5)
NJ Goal – Lenni Hameenaho (1) from Brendon Dillon (1) and Cody Glass (3)
NJ Penalty – 16:06 – Luke Hughes – 2 minutes for High Sticking
WAS Penalty – Bench (served by Alex Ovechkin) – 2 minutes for Too Many Men
| End of Second | WAS – 2 | NJ – 2 |
| Shots | 20 | 19 |
| Faceoff Wins | 20/37 | 17/37 |
| Hits | 15 | 11 |
| Powerplay | 1/2 | 1/1 |
Third Period:
WAS Penalty – 3:24 – Timothy Liljegren – 2 minutes for Tripping
NJ Goal – 6:27 – Vladislav Kolyachonok (1) from Evan Rodrigues (5)
NJ Goal – 17:07 – Stefan Noesen (2) from Connor Brown (3)
NJ ENG – 19:15 – Jack Hughes (10) from Arseny Gritsyuk (8) and Jesper Bratt (16)
| End of Third | WAS – 2 | NJ – 5 |
| Shots | 28 | 29 |
| Faceoff Wins | 31/60 | 29/60 |
| Hits | 22 | 16 |
| Powerplay | 1/2 | 1/3 |
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