The Washington Capitals looked darn good in Tuesday’s convincing road win over the New Jersey Devils, who aren’t even really trying at this point.
Andre Burakovsky began the scoring with a smart release. The Devils replied with one second left in the first period, when the Caps got a bit careless in their own zone. The second period was a bonanza. Brett Connolly caught a pass from Djoos to hit twenty goals for the first time in his career. Then the Devils surrendered odd-man breaks to allow both Tom Wilson and Evgeny Kuznetsov to score. A speedy third period ended without a change to the scoreboard.
Caps win!
- Congrats to Brett Connolly for cracking the twenty-goal milestone. After two seasons capping at 15 goals, Conno is having a marvelous contract year. His goal on Tuesday was one part dedication and two parts…
- Christian Djoos! Djoos returned to active play after missing time since the late 1980s due to a lower-body injury and scratches. Filling in for the resting Brooks Orpik, Djoos dominated his five-on-five shifts and got on the scoreboard with that beautiful pass to Connolly.
- The scoring that followed was fun, though I imagine the lottery-bound New Jersey Devils weren’t delighted with the glut of odd-man rushes they let let the Caps run in the second period, including a stretch of three goals on four shots.
- A ton of our pals were at Prudential Center tonight. We love all y’all.
— Donya (@virtual_don) March 19, 2019
- Evgeny Kuznetsov saw some new linemates in this one, taking shifts with Vrana and Oshie a few times. I really, really, really prefer that combination to help Kuznetsov with his defensive responsibilities. Let’s see if it sticks.
- From the Shinra Corporation out-of-town scoreboard: Montreal beat Philly, Boston whipped Long Island, and Pittsburgh lost in the shootout to Carolina. Call me a masochist, but I’m rooting for a Caps-Pens first-round series. (I’m also hoping Lumbus can get a hot Bob to beat the Bolts.)
- Alex Ovechkin went without a shot attempt, though I’m fine with it. Ovi had a chance to score in the second period but he chose to set up Wilson for a sure-thing goal instead.
#JoeBSuitOfTheNight #CapsDevils Blue checkers and peach 🍑 pic.twitter.com/cMYyNEvoxz
— Ian Oland (@ianoland) March 19, 2019
The Caps now return home for the single toughest game of the season. They’ll go in tired against the best team in the league, who will be rested. I can’t wait. Let’s see what they’ve got.
