Devils Late-Game Surge Not Enough, Fall to Washington Capitals, 6-5

Published: Friday, November 29, 2024

by Brian Henderson

NEWARK, N.J - The New Jersey Devils (16-9-2) lost at home to the Washington Capitals (17-6-1), 6-5 on Saturday night. New Jersey’s defense, or lack thereof, was on full display tonight. After the first period, the Devils had five shots compared to Washington’s 15, despite the scoring being tied at one.  

The scoring got started with Andrew Mangiapane slotting a shot past New Jersey keeper Jake Allen with 13:41 left in the period. The Devils needed a response and got one quick with a nifty backhand shot from Nico Hischier. It was his 15th goal of the season, tying Alex Ovechkin and Mikko Rantanen for fourth in the league.

The Devils took the lead early in the second period with a goal from Justin Dowling off the pass from Brett Pesce. With that assist, Pesce picked up his 200th career point. Late in the second period, however, things started to fall apart. Two penalties within 45 seconds of each other made it four-on-three for the Capitals. With the Devils disadvantaged, Washington scored twice in a little more than a minute to take a 3-2 lead. In the closing seconds of the second period, Rasmus Sandin sniped a shot by Allen to take a multi-goal lead with a period left.  

New Jersey needed a goal quick, and Stefan Noesen delivered. Two minutes into the third period, he made it a 4-3 game. Still trying to claw back into this game, the Devils had to lean on their stars. The all-star connection between Hughes and Bratt sent the Prudential Center into a frenzy with 15:45 minutes left in the game.  

The defense had recovered from their second quarter collapse, but they fell off the tracks once again in the third. Within a span of just ten seconds, both Taylor Raddysh and Pierre-Luc Dubois scored to give the Capitals another multi-goal lead.  

It was desperation time for New Jersey, and it was Noesen again who gave them another breath of life. With just over three minutes left to go, he found the back of the net with assists from Timo Meier and Jack Hughes, but the Devils still needed one more goal. Unfortunately, they couldn’t scrap out another come-from-behind win and dropped this game against Washington.  

The Devils need to rest up, as they’ve got a marquee matchup against the New York Rangers at MSG on Nov. 2. They still have sole possession of second place in the Metro, but a win against their division rival would put them in first place.  

Brian Henderson is an Assistant News Director at WSOU and can be reached at brian.henderson1@student.shu.edu. 

 

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