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Pamela Smith

NEWARK — They did it again, these Washington Capitals, who ideally would like to lead from start to finish every once in a while but are proving they have no issue doing things the hard way — or even the really hard way.

The Capitals beat the New Jersey Devils, 6-5, on Saturday night at Prudential Center for their fourth win in a row, their seventh straight victory on the road (to tie a franchise record) and their 10th come-from-behind win.

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Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 22 saves for Washington (17-6-1), which moved into first place in the Metropolitan Division — and the Eastern Conference. Jake Allen stopped 26 shots for the Devils (16-9-2).

“I’m going to sound like a broken record, but it’s character. It’s the guys in the room,” Lindgren said. “That’s the thing about this group. You look at the game <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/29/washington-capitals-new-york-islanders-overtime/" target=_blank>[Friday] against the Islanders</a>. It wasn’t pretty. We find a way to battle back and get the two points [in overtime]. Tonight, played some really good hockey, they pushed back, and then we pushed back, and we find ourselves with two points against a really good hockey team.”

Saturday’s game slightly altered the script from the previous three. This time, the Capitals scored the first goal, which they hadn’t done since they hosted New Jersey a week earlier <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/23/capitals-devils-losing-streak/" target="_blank">in a 3-2 loss</a>. Winger Andrew Mangiapane put Washington ahead at 6:19 of the first period by collecting a rebound of his own shot at the front of the net and pushing it past Allen.

Forward Hendrix Lapierre, who has been a healthy scratch at times this season but has started to click with Mangiapane and center Lars Eller after moving to the wing, began the play with a skillful rush through the neutral zone before he dished to Mangiapane from behind the net.

Despite recording just five shots in the opening period, the Devils responded just over four minutes later with a goal from captain Nico Hischier. Luke Hughes set up Hischier for a backhander past Lindgren’s toe at the side of the crease.

Allen made several highlight-reel saves on a Washington power play later in the period to keep the score level, and just 2:38 into the second period, New Jersey took the lead when a shot from defenseman Brett Pesce deflected off Justin Dowling in the slot and found the net.

“There was a lot of ebbs and flows and swings in the game, momentum and emotionally, for players and coaches on both sides,” Capitals Coach Spencer Carbery said. “Power play, to get us that lead into the second intermission, stepped up huge with the double minor to get two.”

Trailing by a goal, the Capitals received an extended power play after the Devils’ Dawson Mercer drew blood when he hit center Dylan Strome up high with his stick. Though Washington is without captain Alex Ovechkin, the centerpiece of its power play for so many years <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/2024/11/21/alex-ovechkin-injury-timeline/" target=_blank>who is out with a broken left fibula</a>, the power play has been red-hot. That continued Saturday with a 3-for-5 showing.

Forward Connor McMichael scored his 14th goal of the season at 9:49, firing a one-timer from the slot off a pass from center Pierre-Luc Dubois. Just 1:07 later, defenseman Jakob Chychrun scored his third goal in the past four games with what’s quickly becoming his trademark wrister from the top of the circles, a blistering shot that Allen had no chance of stopping.

“[Eller had] a great break-in. Finds Chych, who’s on fire right now,” Dubois said. “We’ve got to keep finding Chych. That helps. But after that, we just keep moving the puck. It’s never easy [for the penalty killers] when it can come from anybody.”

Defenseman Rasmus Sandin extended Washington’s lead with just 12 seconds left in the period on yet another power play. Winger Ivan Miroshnichenko stuck with an extended battle behind the net and eventually emerged with the puck before tapping it to Sandin for a quick-release wrister.

On the first shift of the third period, though, winger Tom Wilson tripped Hischier in the neutral zone, sending New Jersey to the power play. Stefan Noesen pulled the Devils within one with a tap-in finish from the doorstep off a pass from Jack Hughes at 2:03.

Just 2:12 later, the Devils’ Jesper Bratt tied the score with a deflection at the side of the net on a shot by Jack Hughes.

The teams’ three previous meetings were tightly fought. New Jersey won the first by two but scored an empty-netter with eight seconds left for that cushion. The other two were decided by a goal, so it was only fitting that the final meeting also was close.

It wasn’t until there were just over six minutes remaining that the Capitals broke through to pull back into the lead. Amid a strong shift from the fourth line, winger Taylor Raddysh started a line change with Washington in possession, and he quickly found himself on the receiving end of a shot-pass from defenseman Martin Fehervary that he deflected past Allen at 13:54.

“What a shift,” Carbery said. “... That’s a massive play in a big moment in a tied hockey game.”

And just 10 seconds later, Dubois extended the Capitals’ lead by hitting the empty net — left vacated by Allen as he attempted to play the puck behind the net before he was forced into a turnover by winger Aliaksei Protas.

Up two again, Washington still didn’t make life easy for itself — Eller took a tripping penalty shortly after Dubois scored, and Noesen cut New Jersey’s deficit to one with another power-play tally at 16:45.

The Capitals had to keep hanging on after the Devils pulled Allen for an extra attacker. It wasn’t always pretty, and neither was the rest of the game, but it was enough for Washington to move into first place.

“Feels good. A lot of hockey to be played, but when you’re at the top like that right now, you start getting a target on your back,” Dubois said. “Teams start playing their best games. We’re not surprising anybody anymore. Still a lot of hockey, but we’re playing well, and we can keep rolling.”

University of Michigan, BA in communications

Bailey Johnson joined The Washington Post in 2023 as the Washington Capitals beat writer. She previously covered the Columbus Blue Jackets and the Columbus Crew for the Columbus Dispatch. 

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