Devils Make Their Moms Proud, Hold On In 3-2 Victory Over Capitals in Jake Allen’s 200th Win

Not tonight, Capitals.

The New Jersey Devils changed up the lineup a tad, removing Shane Bowers from the lineup and inserting Nolan Foote to the third line. This meant that Paul Cotter started the game on the fourth line, another indication that Sheldon Keefe was unhappy with Cotter’s carelessness in the second period against Carolina. Still, they were counting on Cotter to lift up the fourth line as the team sought a road victory on their Mom’s Trip.

First Period

Tom Wilson was called for a high sticking penalty just a few minutes into the game when he was a bit careless along the wall by Jack Hughes. Nico Hischier won the draw, and Stefan Noesen was called for hooking just 18 seconds into the power play, sending the teams to four-on-four. Hischier again won his draw, but his line could not get the puck down to the other end. This was accomplished by Hughes and Bratt, who had Hamilton pinching down for a redirection chance at the front of the net – but the Capitals did not allow the pass to get through. Both teams came away with an 0-for-1 on their power plays, and Jake Allen made some great saves in Washington’s first flurry of chances back at even strength.

The Devils and Capitals played some rather low-event hockey during the first period. Naturally, the first goal of the game came on a point shot from Matt Roy that deflected off Nolan Foote’s glove and through light traffic around the net. The Capitals took a 1-0 lead about 14 minutes into the period. This did seem to spark the Devils, who had the fourth line on with Dougie Hamilton and Brenden Dillon. As they created a chance for Dougie Hamilton, the big man was tripped up by Nic Dowd, and the Devils went back to the power play.

This time, the Devils were sure not to take a penalty so early in their power play. The Devils won the neutral zone draw (due to a prior scrum) and entered the zone, and Dougie Hmailton ripped a one-timer that gave the Devils a few chances to pot a rebound. Charlie Lindgren gave them a fit on a few opportunities, but he lost his stick in the second minute of the power play. Dougie took a low shot at him, but he froze it between his legs, allowing the Capitals to change after he made five saves against the Devils’ first power play unit. Luke Hughes, looking for more points, went backdoor with a feed to Erik Haula. Haula put it on goal, and the puck sat on the goal line until Tomas Tatar hammered it to the twine! The Devils tied the game less than three minutes after Roy took the lead for Washington.

Second Period

After allowing just three shots in the first period, the Devils had Jake Allen more than double his save count in the first minute and a half of the second, as he made saves on Taylor Raddysh, Brandon Duhaime, and Matt Roy when the Capitals had New Jersey pinned back early. Washington continued to tilt the ice, but Jake Allen also came out of the intermission a bit sharper than in the first.

Like the Capitals, the Devils benefitted from a point shot into traffic when they were struggling to get anything going. This time, John Carlson deflected a Brenden Dillon point shot past Charlie Lindgren just past seven minutes into the period, as Paul Cotter stepped out of the way for Carlson to deflect the puck. The Devils took a 2-1 lead, quieting the Washington crowd that began to buzz with their offensive push in the early second period.

Brandon Duhaime did not like getting hit by Johnny Kovacevic not long after the Devils took the lead, and the two went at it and ended up with five-minute fighting majors. Kovacevic, big as he is, handled himself well — but this left the Devils without one of their defenders in a critical juncture of the game. This started to show a bit towards the end of those five minutes, as Dougie Hamilton ended up with Jonas Siegenthaler, with those two seeing a few chances against. Still, the Devils survived until they had their man back.

Rasmus Sandin took a tripping penalty on Jesper Bratt with 4:22 left in the period, sending the Devils to their third power play of the game. And they wasted no time — Dougie Hamilton loaded up and sniped right off the draw! The Devils took a two-goal lead just four seconds into their man advantage.

The teams skated at four-on-four when Nico Hischier and Connor McMichael were sent off for unsportsmanlike conduct. This was Hischier’s first penalty of the season. The best play in the four-on-four came when Jonas Siegenthaler denied a saucer feed to John Carlson on a rush, late in the period, preserving the two-goal lead.

Third Period

With Nico coming out of the box quickly to start the final period, Washington was called for another penalty when Nic Dowd was called for high-sticking Nico Hischier. Dowd was right that the stick did not come up and get him, but it looked like he made contact with Hischier’s head with the knob of his stick. So, it was a penalty — just not what they called.

Connor McMichael knocked the puck away from Jack Hughes up high early in the power play, but Jake Allen came out to turn it back up the ice so the Devils could re-enter the offensive zone. The Devils just did not have the same kind of juice on this opportunity, though, giving the Capitals life with just over 17 minutes to play in the game.

Paul Cotter was called for slashing with the Capitals hunting for a goal, and the Devils went to the penalty kill. The Capitals set up well, creating some chaos and keeping possession for the entire first minute. Johnny Kovacevic was upended at the top of the crease with Tom Wilson jockeying his elbow around, and John Carlson set up a tap-in for Connor McMichael, making it a 3-2 game.

The Capitals had a golden chance to tie the game when Andrew Mangiapane took a feed from John Carlson on the rush. Mangiapane went to the backhand on Allen, but Allen sprawled out and gloved the shot! After he froze that one, he made another big save on Pierre-Luc Dubois on a quick snap. A couple shifts later, Tomas Tatar took the puck away in the neutral zone and had a breakaway, but was unable to beat Lindgren with Matt Roy on his heels. After the Devils worked an offensive zone draw, Washington went back to the penalty kill for sending the puck over the glass. Taylor Raddysh went to the box.

On the power play, Nic Dowd had a chance to beat Dougie Hamilton at the blueline to take the puck down on a rush the other way, but Dougie stood tall and forced Dowd to play the puck into the benches. Nico won the next draw, and Hamilton was hunting for a goal — but he could not hit the net. He took one shot at a loose puck that was blocked, and he took a one-timer after a lengthy battle in the corner that went just wide. Washington cleared the puck late in the power play, leaving a touch under eight minutes for the Devils to defend their lead at even strength.

With over four minutes to play, Dawson Mercer did a great job by giving the Devils a chance to get fresh legs on when he stripped the puck on the forecheck. His shot was blocked, but the puck deflected to Timo Meier, whose shot was denied by Lindgren. Meier went off the ice, and the Capitals waited behind their net after collecting the rebound, giving the Devils that breather. Jake Allen made a save with 1:27 to play, freezing the puck, giving the Capitals a chance to have Lindgren pulled for a faceoff.

The Capitals got what they wanted on the draw, with Carlson setting up a one-timer for Connor McMichael — but Allen reached out to deny the shot! The Capitals lost the zone after a failed clear following the next draw, giving the Devils some breathing room, but not possession. Spencer Carbury called timeout with 38.9 to play after a shot deflected out of play. The Devils collapsed around Allen, getting block after block until Dawson Mercer whipped the puck down the ice into the Capitals net just after the buzzer sounded, with the Devils hanging on for a 3-2 win!

The Game Stats: The NHL.com Game Summary | The NHL.com Event Summary | The NHL.com Play by Play Log | The NHL.com Shot Summary | The Natural Stat Trick Game Stats

A Team Effort

Tonight, unlike some of the Devils’ recent stretch of games, was not won by the domination of one of the top lines. Even though the Capitals were missing Alex Ovechkin, they are still a tough and grimy team. The fact that their goals came from Tomas Tatar and Brenden Dillon reflected the fact that Sheldon Keefe was consciously relying on more of the supporting cast than he has been. The Cotter-Dowling-Tatar line fared the best, outshooting the Capitals 7-1 and being the only line to be on the ice for an even strength goal for the Devils. The third line did not seem to incorporate Nolan Foote, though — so Keefe may want to revisit that particular group. With Tatar earning two points tonight, I would like to see him get a full game in a promotion to the third line.

The defensemen were tough as nails tonight, with Brett Pesce, Jonas Siegenthaler, and Johnny Kovacevic blocking 14 shots between them. The rest of the Devils blocked another 14, with Dougie Hamilton, Jack Hughes, and Ondrej Palat each having two blocks, while only four Devils did not have a blocked shot. This was huge for the Devils keeping Washington at bay, though I would not envy how much pain Brett Pesce is probably going to feel in his leg tomorrow morning.

Big Games From the Backup

With Jake Allen having played his last game on November 14 when he made 25 saves against Florida, this was the right time to keep him fresh. Despite Washington not putting much rubber on him in the first, he was incredibly sharp in the second and third, arguably only giving up a second goal because the officials decided to swallow the whistles to pay Washington back for a correct penalty call they had made earlier against them, drawing the ire of Nic Dowd, Spencer Carbury, and the fans.

With tonight’s win, Allen moves up to 5-2-1 on the season with a .917 save percentage, earning his 200th career victory. The Devils might have done him a lot of favors with their efforts to block shots tonight — but they still asked him to bail them out a few times. Knowing that the team has a backup they can turn to, who can provide reliable performances in net, goes a long way to curing the effect last season had on my viewing expectations. And Allen did not just get lucky tonight. He played the puck well, and he made some great glove saves. A lesser performance would have seen this game go to overtime, and I am not sure the third period Devils would have gone and won a game in overtime.

Don’t Doubt Dougie

Dougie Hamitlon had the game-winning goal tonight, and the team needed it. The forwards were stonewalled time and time again in the first and second periods by Charlie Lindgren, and the Capitals were holding them down a bit more in the third. Tonight’s goal was his third of the season, and his shot percentage is now at 3.9%, which is still very low for him, but a lot better than it was just a few days ago. With 17 points, he is on track for 61 points, which would be his second-best mark in his career. So, even though the goals did not come early, there was not a reason to doubt Dougie would return to his offense-lifting form. Here he is, helping Jake Allen deliver us a win.

Your Thoughts

What did you think of tonight’s game? did you enjoy the effort? How about those blocked shots? Who do you think was the best player of the night, after Jake Allen? Leave your thoughts in the comments below, and thanks for reading.