Capitals vs Devils: How the Game Was Lost

"For the first forty-one minutes of the Washington Capitals' Saturday night tilt against the New Jersey Devils, it appeared as if the Caps were stuck in what's become familiar territory in recent weeks. They began the evening with an early parade to the sin bin, putting a maligned penalty killing unit out on the ice three times in the game's first ten minutes. They were lucky to get out of that stretch only being pierced once."

"The Caps were listless offensively throughout the next twenty minutes. Sure, they had the Devils beat in most possession metrics as they have with most of their opponents this season. The difference here being that New Jersey had the Washington beat when it came to the quality of their scoring chances, holding Washington to the perimeter and keeping Jake Allen's territory clean."

The Capitals faced early adversity with multiple penalties that tested a struggling penalty kill and allowed New Jersey to strike from distance via Luke Hughes. Washington controlled possession but ceded the more dangerous scoring opportunities, forcing them to try to spark a comeback. Alex Ovechkin created momentum late, finding Connor McMichael to open the third-period scoring and later converting to tie the game. The late-period push energized the team and crowd, but the comeback fell short when the game was decided in a shootout, resulting in a loss for Washington.

Read at Japers' Rink