The Capitals played their second consecutive game without their star Alex Ovechkin as they hosted the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night. Unfortunately, Washington fell short by the score of 3-2, marking back-to-back losses without The Great 8.
The first two periods really showed that the Capitals weren’t able to get much going, as they couldn’t move the puck or play well on defense. The Caps also weren’t able to stay out of the box as they committed seven penalties and had 17 penalty minutes in the contest. The team also gave up two New Jersey power play goals, with one in the first period and another in the middle frame.
Despite the team’s flaws, the Capitals struck first in the opening period when Matt Roy fired a rocket from the point for his first goal as a member of Washington.
The Caps found a glimmer of hope in the third period when Connor McMichael scored on the power play for his 13th tally of the season. McMichael is now tied for the fourth-most goals in the NHL.
Washington came close to tying it near the end, but Devils goalie Jake Allen robbed Andrew Mangiapane and Pierre-Luc Dubois of potential game-tying goals. The Caps also had many chances with an extra attacker in the final minute, but they came up just short.
Despite giving up three goals, Charlie Lindgren finished with 30 saves in net.
