The New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals clashed on Saturday night for Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the Prudential Center. The Devils welcomed 12-year-old Theo Koshenkov, a diehard Devils fan who was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma. Theo was given a jersey signed by the team, participated in a ceremonial puck drop and got to read the lineup to players in the locker room, among other things. It was certainly a night that brought a lot of perspective to everything, showing that wins and losses aren’t nearly as important as they may feel.
With that being said, fans were treated to a thriller tonight. The Capitals came out on top 6-5, concluding their season series with the Devils by taking four of eight points. They move to 17-6-1 on the season; the Devils fall to 16-9-2.
The first period was a slow start for the Devils, as per usual lately. Head coach Sheldon Keefe told The Hockey Writers, “When (the slow starts) repeat themselves, I would say it’s mental.”
Andrew Mangiapane scored to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. It was the seventh straight contest where the Devils gave up the first goal. But Nico Hischier potted his 15th goal of the season with a quick response. Jake Allen made some monster saves to keep them in it, stopping +0.50 goals above expected in the frame. (via MoneyPuck)
In the second, Justin Dowling struck for a power-play goal as he redirected a Brett Pesce shot, putting the Devils up 2-1. But things unraveled as the Devils got into penalty trouble, facing a lengthened 4-on-3. The Capitals got goals from Connor McMichael and Jakob Chychrun, both on said man advantage, to take a 3-2 lead. Luke Hughes took a tripping penalty late in the frame and Rasmus Sandin scored for the Caps’ third power-play goal of the period.
To start the third, it was the Caps’ turn to get into penalty trouble, as a Tom Wilson tripping penalty led to a Stefan Noesen power-play goal. Then Jesper Bratt tipped in a Jack Hughes pass to tie it up, sending the crowd into a frenzy. But it was short-lived as Taylor Raddysh made a perfect deflection past Allen to put the Caps back up 5-4. Then Allen made a mistake leaving to get the puck behind his net, as the Capitals poked it loose, and Pierre Luc-Dubois hit a wide-open cage to make it 6-4. Noesen notched his second of the game to pull the Devils within one, but that was that.
𝓐 𝓕𝓔𝓦 𝓜𝓞𝓜𝓔𝓝𝓣𝓢 𝓛𝓐𝓣𝓔𝓡… pic.twitter.com/c3LiUC4b1i
— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) December 1, 2024
Allen took full responsibility for the blunder that led to the eventual game-winner. The Devils will be back at it on Monday at Madison Square Garden in a crucial matchup against the New York Rangers; the Capitals will face the San Jose Sharks at home on Tuesday night.
