012617 | RMNB

Caps back in business: numbers for the morning after

Thursday night in New Jersey the Capitals re-found their footing, with a 5-2 road win against the Devils. The game produced some nice highlights, with Brooks Orpik doing his best impression of an immovable object against Taylor Hall and a couple pretty breakaway goals. But the best news of all? Daniel Winnik will keep his beard.

Stats-wise at five-on-five, it was evenly played. The possession battle was basically a tie (43-40 Devils at five-on-five), but the Caps edged out a few more shots on net. Factor in the significant PP time and the Caps outshot the Devils 36-29.

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By Nathan Sick 7 years ago

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‘That’s not funny:’ Evgeny Kuznetsov loses control of puck, scores anyway

Last season, Evgeny Kuznetsov became the first player not named Alex Ovechkin or Nicklas Backstrom to lead the team in points for over a decade. The start of the 2015-16 campaign was not as magical.

Kuznetsov endured long goalless streaks of 17 and 9 games. During the the first two months of the season, Kuzy managed only 9 points in 21 games.

But in December, something clicked. Kuznetsov has tallied 28 points in his last 26 games, which included the two goals he scored against the New Jersey Devils Thursday night.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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After defeating Devils, Alex Ovechkin wishes brother Mikhail a happy birthday

Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin took a moment after a decisive, if non-Bailamos-worthy, 5-2 win over New Jersey Devils on Thursday night to wish his big brother Mikhail a happy birthday via an Instagram post.

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By Graham Dumas 7 years ago

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TJ Oshie missed the Devils game because his daughter is in the hospital

Hours before the Capitals 5-2 win against the New Jersey Devils, news broke that TJ Oshie would not be playing due to a family emergency.

It appears that Oshie’s two-year-old daughter, Lyla, is in the hospital.

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By Madeline Dement 7 years ago

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The beard stays: Caps beat Devils 5-2

The Caps rolled into Newark looking to bounce back from Tuesday’s listless loss to the Senators. This wasn’t just any old hockey game though. A beard was on the line, people.

Alex Ovechkin opened the scoring with a goal that should remind all of us how lucky we are to watch this guy every game. Then the PP converted as Andre Burakovsky put the Caps up 2-0, showing the Devils why it’s a bad idea to pass the puck in front of your own net.

The Devils struck in the opening minutes of the second. The Caps got caught chasing in their own zone, and the lead was cut to to 2-1. The Devils continued to tilt the ice for the first half of the second period but there’s no need to worry because the best third line in hockey got to work and put the Caps up 3-1. Soon after, Dmitry Orlov sprung Evgeny Kuznetsov who slotted home the breakaway and, just like that, the Caps were up 4-1 and Keith Kinkaid’s night was over. The Devils scored before the second was over to make it 4-2. It was a PP goal against a Caps defensive pair of Brooks Orpik and Taylor Chorney…

Kuznetsov added an empty netter in the third.

Caps win 5-2! The beard stays!

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By Patrick Holden 7 years ago

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Hit of the year candidate: Brooks Orpik breaks both Taylor Hall and Taylor Hall’s stick

The Caps and Devils were humming along during a boring third period and then WHAM! Brooks Orpik happened.

As he skated into the offensive zone, Devils forward Travis Zajac sent Taylor Hall a weaksauce backhanded pass that Orpik read all the way. Orpik caught Hall in the left shoulder and the former number one overall pick crumpled to the ice. Hall’s stick broke in half.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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Caps at Devils pregame: Thursday throwdown

Following a rare shutout loss, the Caps head north to right the ship against the New Jersey Devils. The Devs (can we make that a thing?) are dead last in the Metropolitan Division and most recently fell to the Kings, 3-1.

Meanwhile, there are no streaks the Caps can boast of, so consider this both a jinx-free pregame and a clean slate for the team. With TJ Oshie out and Top-Line Beagle in, anything goes.

Puck drop at 7 PM on CSN-MA.

Team	Record	SA%	PDO	Power Play	Penalty Kill
Washington Capitals	32-10-6	54.6%	102.5	19.9%	85.5%
New Jersey Devils	20-20-9	48.6%	99.7	13.9%	82.1%

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By Margaret Stuart 7 years ago

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Illustrator Anthony Zych channels NHL 94 in brilliant Caps-Devils’ gameday poster

For every home game, the New Jersey Devils sell original artwork for $5. The poster they made for tonight’s matchup against the Caps is a doozie.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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TJ Oshie will miss tonight’s game against the Devils due to a family matter

Capitals forward TJ Oshie will miss his ninth game of the season tonight, but it’s not due to injury. According to the Capitals’ Mike Vogel, Oshie “went home” and will miss the team’s matchup against the Devils due to a family matter.

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By Ian Oland 7 years ago

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