The Washington Capitals battled the New Jersey Devils pretty evenly throughout Thursday night but couldn’t outduel them late in the third period. New Jersey scored three goals in the final frame, taking the first of two straight Capitals-Devils matchups with a 5-2 win.
Some good things from that game and some bad.
- The Capitals weren’t in this game early on, getting absolutely blitzed by New Jersey’s speed in the first 5-8 minutes of the first period. They eventually settled in, but still had spells where it was clear they were getting overwhelmed in their own zone, with their man-to-man system trying to keep up with five Devils skaters buzzing around. The third period was Washington’s best as they pushed to try and get something from the game, out-attempting the Devils 17-6 and out-chancing them 9-4 at five-on-five.
- Ryan Leonard scored his sixth goal of the season to tie the game 1-1 in the first period. The marker came on a power play, Leonard’s third tally with the Capitals up a man this season, which leads the team. Leonard had a busy game overall, recording four shots on goal, seven shot attempts, four individual scoring chances, one individual high-danger chance, a drawn penalty, and three hits.
- Cole Hutson grabbed the primary assist on Leonard’s goal, giving him seven points (3g, 4a) in his last six games. Hutson’s 12 points lead rookie defensemen and see him just one point behind Gavin McKenna for the overall lead, with Hutson having four games in hand. Hutson also played 20:34 of ice time in the loss, and he leads all rookies in average ice time per game (19:23) by 50 seconds.
- Logan Thompson was not good in this one. He allowed four goals on 28 shots faced, and two of them – the last two New Jersey scored before their empty-netter – he probably wants back. According to MoneyPuck, he allowed 1.8 more goals than expected, while Connor Hellebuyck saved 0.39 more goals than expected at the other end.
- Jack St. Ivany recorded another point, grabbing an assist on Pierre Luc Dubois’ goal. He now has six points (1g, 5a) in seven games since joining the Capitals.
- Tom Wilson hasn’t scored a goal since October 9. That needs to change.
Numbers thanks to Hockey-Reference, NaturalStatTrick, and HockeyStatCards.
