Devils vs Capitals: Washington won a crazy contest

The New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals have been division rivals ever since the Metropolitan Division came to be in existence. For the most part, the Capitals have found themselves higher in the standings.

Last year, however, one of the changes in power came when New Jersey was a significantly better team than Washington. It appears as if that will be the case again here in 2023-24. However, the Devils are still working out some early-season issues of their own right now.

The Capitals found them at the perfect time. They got them at 3-1-1 coming off a win the night prior in Montreal. Washington picked that as their day to find their game and play at their best. When the Caps went up 1-0, that was the first time they led in a game this season.

The Devils still haven’t scored first which has put them behind in every game they’ve played as well. These starts are something that the Devils need to fix if they want to be a real contender by the time we reach the end of the season. They have plenty of time to figure it out.

The Washington Capitals ended up taking down the New Jersey Devils.

Washington ended up starting the game with a 3-0 lead. New Jersey came all the way back to tie it and take the lead. Tyler Toffoli had a couple of goals while both Nico Hischier and Timo Meier each added another.

Jack Hughes assisted on three of them which brings his point total to 17. Having 17 points in six games is amongst the best starts in the history of the league in terms of point scoring. He is looking like someone who is poised for another career year.

That is about where the good vibes ended for New Jersey. Trailing 4-3 entering the third period, Washington scored another three unanswered goals. Alex Ovechkin scored his 824th into an empty net so only 70 more until he passes Gretzky.

It was a very strange game as each team had a stretch where they scored a ton of goals in a row. Each team had their back against the wall as well at times. Washington prevailed in this one. This could be the type of win they needed to get on a roll here.

The Devils are now off until they play the Buffalo Sabres at home on Friday. As for Washington, they are off until they play the Minnesota Wild at home on the same night. It should be very interesting to see where each team goes from here after a game like that.