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Caps fend off comeback to beat Devils 4-2

By Peter Hassett

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November 10, 2023 9:35 pm

The Washington Capitals cruised off a strong start on Friday night and held on to defeat the New Jersey Devils on enemy ice.

Nicolas Aube-Kubel scored first, a one-time blast after Sandin’s pass. By the way, Nicolas Aube-Kubel is with the team again. He had the assist on the second goal too, a snap from Beck Malenstyn. The top line got involved in the second period, with Tom Wilson serving Evgeny Kuznetsov for a clean rush goal.

Then the Devils got going. Timo Meier cracked the shutout after a lucky bounce off Rasmus Sandin with 13 minutes left in regulation, and Dawson Mercer caught a brilliant pass on the goal line to make it a one-goal game. Kuznetsov sank a long-distance empty-netter as soon as the Devils went six-on-five.

Caps win!

  • The Athletic’s power rankings today had Washington in 29th place. They just defeated the 9th place team and now sit one point out of the playoffs. In points percentage, Washington’s record is better than New Jersey’s. I’m not saying this was a statement game – it was pretty muddled in the third – I’m just saying I’m listening closely.
  • Nicolas Aube-Kubel suited up for the first time this season, and he was marvelous with a goal and an assist. His linemate Beck Malenstyn played the best period of his career in the first with a goal and a drawn penalty. And between them: the returned-from-injury Nic Dowd, who played almost 15 minutes.
  • New Jersey’s starting goalie was former Cap Vitek Vanecek, He made it through five shots, but the last two were goals, so Lindy Ruff gave him an early hook. Don’t worry– he’ll end up a .908, I’m sure.
  • In the second period, TJ Oshie was feeling it. In neutral, he rested the puck on his blade, flipped it up to get around a Devil, then plopped it on top of his blade again. Confidence and the power of positive thought. If he keeps his chin up, he’ll have a goal before, I dunno, Epiphany on January 6.

  • Tom Wilson drew his 10th penalty of the season, putting him behind only Brady Tkachuk and Josh Anderson (12) for most in the league. (Tom also commits a lot of penalties, like his roughing at the end of the game.)
  • Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his second and third goals of the year, the first a lovely rush with help from Tom Wilson, the latter a dart thrown across the galaxy into an empty net. There’s no player I want to see turn it around more than Kuznetsov, so any highlight feels to me like it could be the beginning of some legendary comeback. I don’t know if he’ll be a better center for Ovechkin than Strome was, but I am glad Carbery is giving this experiment a try.
  • When was the last time they actually enforced the jersey tuck rule?
  • A lot went right in this game, but when things went wrong it seemed like Nick Jensen was usually on the ice. I refuse to believe he’s gone over a cliff, so is he just struggling in a new system?
  • I didn’t see it happen, but Marty Fehervary suffered a lower-body injury and missed the third period. Rasmus Sandin left the game in the final two minutes getting pushed around in consecutive hits. I didn’t even like this D roster when they were healthy.
  • Glancing at the Umbrella Corporation out-of-town scoreboard, looks like Ryan Reaves is having another bad night. No matter how you look at it – basic stats, on-ice stats, narrative, grit, eye test, social media dunks – he’s a disaster. It like Brad Treliving fell for the act – big talk, no stick.
  • Still no goal for the big guy. Worried?

That was a good game. I don’t suppose it’ll look great on the spreadsheets, and the third period was haggard, but I liked most of what Washington gave us.

The team will spend the next 24 hours in the tristate. They’ll play in Brooklyn tomorrow night against the Isles. Maybe Ovi will score then.

Headline photo: Adam Marcus

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