WASHINGTON, DC — The Washington Capitals pulled off a close 2-1 win over the New Jersey Devils on Friday, earning their first multi-game win streak since February 27. While Ryan Leonard kicked off the scoring for the Capitals and Aliaksei Protas tallied the game-winning empty-netter, the real hero of the night was goaltender Logan Thompson.
Thompson was nearly perfect in the contest, stopping 31 of 32 Devils shots and ending the night with 2.11 goals saved above expected.
The Capitals — much as they’ve done all season — sang Thompson’s praises after the win.
“Yeah, he was great,” said Leonard. “He’s our backbone and our best player tonight.”
Washington controlled play for most of the first 40 minutes: at five-on-five, the Capitals out-chanced the Devils 18-7 through the first two periods, with a 7-1 advantage in high-danger chances and 67.4% of expected goals for (1.55-.75).
In the third period, however, the Devils made a commendable comeback push. New Jersey leveled 19 shots at Thompson through the final 20 minutes, while the Capitals struggled to maintain the momentum they’d held earlier in the game.
“LT bailed us out a bunch of times there in the third…I think a team like that, especially one as skilled as that, when they take the reins off and just go for broke, it makes them even more tough to deal with,” Trevor van Riemsdyk said. “And they showed that. They were making a lot of plays.
“We didn’t do our best dealing with that and managing pucks. We got some chances, but I think we let it get too much of a track meet there at times, which is — when the other team’s losing, that’s probably what they’d take.”
After the win, head coach Spencer Carbery was asked how the Capitals had managed to weather the third-period storm.
“Having a really good goaltender?” Carbery said, cracking a smile. “Is that an easy one?”
And indeed, Thompson rose to the occasion, holding the Devils to a single goal to secure the win. He explained his mindset in that period postgame.
“Just don’t get scored on and keep our team in it,” he said. “It was a back-and-forth game, and every point is important. So [there’s] not really too much going through my mind.”
Brandon Duhaime acknowledged the team’s over-dependence on Thompson’s talents while highlighting his heroics.
“[Thompson is] awesome,” Duhaime said. “He does it every night for us, and I think we might be relying on him a little too much at times, for sure.”
Thompson’s most impressive save came against Dawson Mercer six minutes into the third. After carrying the puck into the offensive zone, Devils winger Timo Meier swung around behind Thompson, emerging from the trapezoid with a speedy pass to Mercer on the other side of the net. Thompson spotted the play and slid to the left post, catching the puck with his toe.
“They have a lot of talent. You know they’re always looking for those little plays behind the net,” Thompson said of the play. “So, just tried to take away the bottom half, kind of percentage, and he shot it into me. A lot of times, they can put it upstairs, and that’s a goal. So fortunate it went my way tonight.”
On the other side of the ice, New Jersey goaltender Jake Allen put up an impressive game of his own, stopping 26 of 27 shots faced to enable the Devils’ attempt at a comeback. The goalie duel only served to increase Thompson’s motivation.
“Yeah, it’s fun,” Thompson said. “Definitely, you put pressure back on each other. So it’s fun to go back and forth with him. I have a lot of respect for him, and he’s been around for a while in this league, and I thought he was outstanding tonight for the Devils.”
Thompson seemed poised to earn his third shutout of the season with less than a minute to go, but a top-shelf shot from Jesper Bratt got the Devils on the scoreboard in the final minute. Over his tenure in Washington, Thompson has joked about his difficulties closing out a clean sheet, telling reporters last season, “I’m good at letting in one (goal), so I can never seem to get them.”
Ultimately, however, Thompson won’t be dwelling too hard on the failed shutout bid: he accomplished what he set out to do.
“I don’t really care about that,” he said. “They’re not going to remember me for my shutouts. So, yeah, it’s not really on my mind. I just want to win…I’m not really trying to get a contract, not trying to prove anything. So just wins are all that matters.”
