Washington Capitals Fall to Devils in OT After Bye Week

The Washington Capitals lose a close game to the New Jersey Devils 4-3 in overtime

On Thursday, the top two teams in the Metropolitan division squared off. The Washington Capitals headed to Newark to face the New Jersey Devils after being on their bye week. In enemy territory, they saw themselves lose a close battle in 4-3 in overtime.

The Devils opened the scoring in the first period when forward Drew Stafford beat goaltender Braden Holtby with a terrific backhand on a breakaway to make it 1-0 Devils. Also in the same period, Capitals forward T.J. Oshie entered the zone and fired a puck on net. The ricochet caromed right to Brett Connolly with an open net awaiting. He wasted no time and tied the game at one.

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In the second period, Washington struggled mightily against a fast-paced Devils squad. They were outshot 13 to six in the period. It was also clear that they were struggling defensively. As a result, the Devils were able to capitalize on this by getting goals from Andy Greene and Miles Wood to grab a 3-1 lead. Fortunately for the Capitals, defenseman Dmitry Orlov scored just 14 seconds after Wood to cut the lead to 3-2. This salvaged an otherwise lethargic period for the Caps.

When the third period started, was a defensive struggle between the two teams. As it carried on to its final stages, it was Connolly who once again was able to tie the game at the 16:12 mark. He also tied the game in the Capitals’ previous game against the Carolina Hurricanes. This meant that the game was headed to overtime.

Just 26 seconds into the extra period, Taylor Hall chipped the puck past Evgeny Kuznetsov and scored on a mini-breakaway against Holtby.

Five Takeaways

• The Capitals will look to finish their back-to-back set with a victory against the Montreal Canadiens. The game will be back at the Capitol One Arena on Friday.
• Three Stars: Taylor Hall, Brett Connolly, Miles Wood
• The Capitals were 0-for-5 on their powerplay opportunities. They also didn’t record any shots on two of them.
• The Capitals five-game winning streak against the Devils Snapped.
• Washington picks up a key point in a tight Metro Division race.

Highlights

First Period:

Second Period:

Third Period:

Overtime:

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It’s worth noting the Capitals didn’t have a full practice before coming back from their bye week. Wednesday’s weather forced them to cancel practice. They probably won’t be able to get one in before Friday’s game against the Canadiens either.