The New Jersey Devils flummoxed the Washington Capitals to sweep the home-and-home series. This game had everything: a kicked-in goal, a bloodless double minor for high-sticking, the kind of own-goal that gets [this joke has been removed for insensitivity], and Alex Ovechkin backchecking.
It was a busy first period. Pierre-Luc Dubois was the beneficiary of a brilliant chip pass and a loose puck. Lenni Hameenaho tied it up on the rush just three minutes later. Devils goalie Connor Hellebuyck overplayed a shot by Ryan Leonard, and then Connor Brown scored a controversial power-play goal. Late in the frame, Anthony Beauvillier won a fight in the crease to give the Caps 3-2 lead after one period.
The middle period was ugly hockey with two goals, both belonging to New Jersey. Jesper Boqvist was perhaps aided in scoring by Tom Wilson crashing into Charlie Lindgren. Then Timo Meier got a couple whacks on the power play to put the Devils up with one period left to go.
Nico Hischier scored a shorthanded goal to make it 5-3 Devils early in the third period. Ilya Protas partially redeemed the PP with a sharp-angle shot. Evan Rodrigues scored thanks to a freak bounce off Timothy Liljegren. The Caps pushed hard in the game’s remainder but couldn’t close the gap. Rodrigues got a second goal against an empty net.
Devils beat the Caps 7-4.
- Curse game. Hell game. Ragebait game. Nightmare for goalies game. Officiating malpractice game.
- Like, consider this: on three different occasions the broadcast showed New Jersey Devils players reacting to their goals, and the expression on their faces was, “Can you believe that worked?” Yeah, dude, I can. This is the curse game, hell game, etc. I literally just said that.
- Connor Brown kicked a puck in, but through the vagaries of NHL officiating it withstood a review. I admit there is esoterica I do not understand, but to me that was the most egregious Kick I’ve seen since an incel named Femoral ran over a golden retriever in his Land Rover while gambling on an IRL stream.
- The Devils have five ex-Caps on their roster. Connor Brown, Jonas Siegenthaler, Declan Chisholm of the Newport Chisholms, Anthony Mantha (out with an injury), and Brenden Dillon. Every shade of opinion you can have about an ex-Cap is in that list, including “Oh yeah, I forgot he played for the Caps” and “Oh yeah, I forgot Zdeno Chara played for the Caps so they had to trade him.”
- I’m going to be cranky about the Caps defense in a moment, but let’s spare a second for the power play, which gave Jersey an odd-man rush – with Alex Ovechkin the lone man back, which is really where you love to see Alex Ovechkin in 2026. Charlie Lindgren had to activate his cyberpunk Kerenzikov boost to save the goal.
- But it is in their own zone that Capitals were most atrosh. Seems to me like Matt Roy, who is Washington’s best defensive defender, is the only guy suited for the man-to-man style.
- Ryan Leonard got a double-minor for high-sticking Cody Glass. He owes the PKers a thank-you card. I think he got skipped on some shifts after that, but he still made an impact: a goal before the penalty and drawing a penalty afterward.
- Timothy Liljegren. I’ve had the right amount of him.
- Pierre-Luc Dubois is on a four-game goal streak.
- Happiest of birthdays to my idol, Joe Beninati. Forty or whatever looks great on you.
Coming at you with the paisley tie like BAM #joebsuitofthenight
— Good Skeet Pete (@peterhassett.net) 2026-11-15T00:02:49.635Z
With Logan Thompson not quite his elite self this fall, Saturday’s game was an opportunity for Charlie Lindgren to step up. I could say “nothing he could do” on the kick or the Liljegren own goal, but at some point the excuses pile up too high. The point stands that Lindgren needed to step up and didn’t.
I’d say this was an unlucky game, but that would suggest I wasn’t maddeningly frustrated by it. I was. Everything went wrong for the Caps, deserved and not. Even an incompetent Caps team could have won that game had minor details changed – and a truly good Caps team would have won it either way. Until the Caps figure out their PP (bad) and their defense (baaaaaaaaaaaad), they’re going to have more nights like this one.
And now, if Iranian hackers permit, the Caps will fly to Florida for the annual mentors trip, plus a game against the Bolts, from whom Nikita Kucherov wishes to bolt.
