(Photo courtesy of Elsa/ Getty Images North America)
With the Stadium Series game looming just two nights away, many were concerned with the Devils overlooking there shorthanded division foe. With a hot Cory Schneider back in net after a definitive victory over a strong St. Louis Blues team, that was not the case. Washington would come in without the league leader in goals, Alex Ovechkin, who is sidelined with a lower body injury. The Capitals who have been winless in their last 6 games were looking to come into tonight’s game and get back on track. For the Devils, they are coming off a statement win on a snowy night against St. Louis. With 7 different goal scorers, the Devils were looking to keep their offense rolling.
The Caps came out looking to set the tone early on in the first with noticeably physical play. Having taken it a bit too far, Marin Erat would be called for boarding Anton Volchenkov at 2:31. The Caps would kill the penalty off, but the Devils would carry the momentum from the power play to create a 2 on 1 scoring chance. Gionta would score his third goal of the year on the rush started by Jagr, who would pick up the lone assist. It seemed that the Devils offense would pick up just where they left off against St. Louis. The physical play was a clear objective of Washington and the Devils, specifically Volchenkov and the Fourth line of Carter, Gionta and Bernier, were more than ready to step up to the task. Nicklas Backstom would go off for cross-checking at 12:24 of the first. Although the Devils would not score the power play would continue its effectiveness with 5 SOG. With the Devils playing aggressively, Fayne would go off for tripping at 18:06 of the first bringing Washington its first power play of the game. Washington would bring the NHL’s third ranking power play into tonight, to spite recent woes.
In the beginning of the second the tone of the game would remain the same with the Devils picking up another power play 41 seconds in with Orlov going off for holding. Adam Henrique would net his 14th goal of the season on a pass from Jagr, notching his second assist of the game and 1,033rd all-time tying him with Mario Lemieux. After killing off their fourth penalty of the game the Caps would begin to step up their game and push back at the Devils. Schneider would stand tall and continue to control the game. With a power play carrying over to the beginning of the third the Caps would get 2 shorthanded scoring chances. That would set the tone for the rest of the game as the Caps would finally breakthrough with a deflection in front of the net by Chimera at 10:10 of the third. That would be Chimera’s 10th goal of the year and 8th goal in 18 career games against New Jersey. With that goal the Caps would snap a scoreless streak of 149:11. It would be there only tally of the night as Schneider would stand tall and continue his hot play.
Tonight the Devils took another step to get back into the playoff picture and continue to show promising signs of chemistry. With the return of Damien Brunner, the line of Brunner, Elias, and Zubrus would pick up right where it left off right before the injuries to Brunner and Elias. This is key because this would allow the Devils to roll all four lines effectively as they did in 2012 when they reached the Stanley Cup Finals. The fourth line of Gionta, Carter, and Bernier would keep up their solid systematic play and resemble the line that was so key to their Cup run in 2012. Pair that with the recent play of both goalies and the Devils just might find themselves one of the top eight teams in the East when all is said and done.
Mike Panus: PureSportsNY