The Washington Capitals lost to the New Jersey Devils on Thursday night, falling 5-2 at the Prudential Center in Newark after surrendering three unanswered goals in the final frame.
Head coach Spencer Carbery pointed to a breakdown in crunch time as his team failed to protect a 2-2 deadlock heading into the third period.
Saturday night brings the second leg of this home-and-home series as the Devils visit Capital One Arena, following Thursday’s opening clash. Until that rematch arrives, the Capitals will be heavily fixated on the final 20 minutes at Prudential Center and preventing a recurrence.
After entering the third period tied 2-2, the Capitals failed to build on the energy they gained from a successful penalty kill. Washington dropped to a tougher end of the Metropolitan Division battle as New Jersey took control down the stretch.
“In those moments, it’s two teams now who can impose their will and who can make winning plays more consistently for 20 minutes, and we just crack. We end up cracking after a great penalty kill,” Carbery said moments after the loss.
“So it’s one play here, one play there, one missed icing, whatever it might be. And tonight we’re on the wrong end of it, and we crack, and it ends up going to the back burner,” Carbery added.
“We grab momentum and then we end up cracking. And when you talk about margins in National Hockey League games and how they’re decided, especially when consistently night to night, if you talk about two good teams, the margins are (thin), right?” Carbery said.
Early Leads and Missed Chances
This matchup marked the second encounter between the clubs this campaign, succeeding Washington’s four unanswered goals that propelled them to a 4-2 victory on October 17 in the nation’s capital. On Thursday, the Devils opened the scoring early on the power play.
The Capitals responded with the next two goals to grab their only lead of the contest. Ryan Leonard struck first on a power-play marker, followed by a wicked wrist shot from Pierre-Luc Dubois that beat Connor Hellebuyck clean over his left shoulder.
However, Washington failed to score over the final 37 minutes of regulation. The Devils capitalized midway through the second period off a deflection to tie the game before pulling away in the third.
“I think we’re figuring out our identity right now,” said Tom Wilson. “Ottawa brought the game to the trenches. We were kind of caught off guard. Once we adjusted to that, we were right there and right in the game.”
“Tonight’s completely different, really different style. It’s run and gun, high skill. So I think we just got to be a little bit more consistent with our play, figure out what type of team we’re going to be,” Wilson continued.
“We’re versatile. We can play different styles. But coming into a game like tonight, we gotta just be a little bit better and more consistent and we’ll be alright,” Wilson said.
Hellebuyck Excels While Thompson Struggles
Hellebuyck improved to 6-0-0 with the Devils since his blockbuster trade from the Winnipeg Jets, delivering another strong performance. At the other end, Logan Thompson struggled in the third period for Washington, conceding two goals he might have stopped a year ago.
The wider focus remains on how the Capitals handle high expectations during Alex Ovechkin’s final NHL season.
“I think we got a good team in the locker room here and obviously Ovie’s last year, so we want to do big things for him,” said defenseman Cole Hutson. “And I have nothing but the most confidence in this team and what we can do and hopefully give Ovie a good last year.”
