The New Jersey Devils lost 6-5 to the Washington Capitals on Saturday night at the Rock. The Devils put together one of their messiest performances of the season, with a slow start, defensive zone breakdowns and far too many penalties contributing to the loss. While New Jersey made a valiant effort to come back a third time, too many self-inflicted mistakes cost them points in the standings. With the loss, the Devils fell to 16-9-2, while the Capitals improved to 17-6-1.
Game Recap
Period One
Washington had the early edge in play, but Jake Allen made some good saves in his first start in exactly a week.
The Capitals broke through at 6:19 with a rebound shot buried by Andrew Mangiapane. Hendrix Lapierre and John Carlson added the assists.
The Devils had just one shot on Charlie Lindgren at the period’s halfway point.
New Jersey finally got some sustained zone time and converted at 10:54. Nico Hischier found the puck in close and backhanded it past Lindgren to tie the game. Luke Hughes and Timo Meier tallied the assists.
The Devils were called for interference, and Allen made some more fabulous saves to bail his team out. New Jersey generated a bit of short-handed pressure and killed the penalty.
Just after the penalty kill, Jack Hughes drew a Devils power play, but it was short-lived, as Jesper Bratt was called for hooking against Tom Wilson. Bratt wanted an embellishment call on Wilson, but the officials disagreed.
The Devils were outshot 17-5 but came out of the period tied at one.
Period Two
The Devils grabbed the lead at 2:38 with Justin Dowling’s second goal of the season off a nice redirection. Brett Pesce added an assist for his first point as a Devil.
New Jersey applied more pressure, and Lindgren robbed Meier of a goal with a sprawling save.
The teams skated at four aside after coincidental minors, but Dawson Mercer caught Dylan Strome with a high stick and was called for a double minor.
Washington scored during the four-on-three after Johnathan Kovacevic broke his stick blocking a shot. Connor McMichael got the goal at 9:49 with assists from Pierre-Luc Dubois and Carlson.
The Capitals scored again on the power play with Jakob Chychrun’s eighth goal of the season that went off the bar and in. Lars Eller and Rasmus Sandin had the assists.
The Devils took another late penalty, and Washington converted again with a few seconds left. Sandin found the loose puck during a net-front battle and hit the back of the net through traffic. Ivan Miroshnichenko had the lone assist.
New Jersey was outshot 10-8 in the middle frame.
Period Three
The Devils got their first full power play opportunity of the game, and they cashed in at 2:03. Jack Hughes connected with Stefan Noesen, who was parked in front of the net, and tipped the puck past Lindgren.
Just a few minutes later, New Jersey tied the game with a goal from Bratt at 4:15. Ondrej Palat made a great play to intercept a pass and get the puck to Jack Hughes, whose shot deflected in off Bratt.
The Devils fell behind again at 13:54 with a redirection by Taylor Raddysh. Martin Fehervary and Carlson added assists.
Seconds later, the Devils gave up another goal after Allen left the net to play the puck and fumbled it, leaving Dubois with an empty net. Aliaksei Protas and Raddysh had the assists.
The Devils got a late power play and pulled the goalie for a two-man advantage. Noesen scored his second of the night at 16:45, burying a shot that deflected off Timo Meier in front. Jack Hughes added a secondary assist for his third point of the game.
The Devils pulled Allen again but couldn’t complete another comeback to force overtime.
New Jersey was outshot 32-27 in the loss.
Takeaways
Untimely Starts
The Devils did not start on time, something that has, again, become a trend for the team this season. New Jersey has now allowed the first goal in seven straight games, dating back to November 16th against the Tampa Bay Lightning. To their credit, they have a 4-3 record over that span, but it’s an alarming sight after last season when they allowed the first goal in 58 of 82 games.
Against Washington, they had already allowed a goal and recorded just a single shot on net halfway through the first period. In the game against Detroit, they allowed two goals before the halfway point of the first. Against the Blues, they allowed three goals in the first period.
Except for the St. Louis game, which was a shutout, the Devils fought back and either won or were within striking distance at the final buzzer, which says a lot about their resiliency and offensive firepower. However, strong starts eliminate the need for dramatic comebacks, and the Devils could use some complete 60-minute efforts, especially on home ice.
Penalty Trouble
The Devils have developed a discipline problem that cost them against the Capitals. New Jersey totaled 14 minutes of penalties, including some four-on-three play during a double minor. While their penalty kill had been good recently, it faltered against Washington, allowing three consecutive power-play goals in the second period.
Looking at the previous three games, the Devils took four penalties against the Red Wings, three against the Blues and five against the Predators, including a five-minute major.
In addition to the volume of penalties, New Jersey has also taken them at inopportune times. Sheldon Keefe has repeatedly stressed game management and the Mercer double minor is exactly why it has been a recurring topic. The Devils had just grabbed their first lead and were controlling play before putting themselves in a difficult position with two players in the box. The penalty wasn’t intentional by Mercer, but given the four-on-four situation and the momentum that New Jersey created, there has to be more awareness.
In future games, the Devils must be more disciplined and avoid unnecessary and untimely penalties that can change the momentum of a game.
Up Next
The Devils look to bounce back on Monday night when they take on the New York Rangers at Madison Square Garden.
This is the first meeting of the season between the division rivals.
The Rangers sit fourth in the Metropolitan Division with a 13-9-1 record. Most recently, they beat the Montreal Canadiens on Saturday afternoon with a late power-play goal that snapped a five-game losing streak.
Puck drop is set for 7:00 p.m. on NHLN, MSGSN and MSG.
