It was a wild night in Newark as the Capitals came back from a second-period collapse for a 6-4 victory.
Two minutes, 11 seconds. That's all it took for the Washington Capitals' best start and showing of the season to disintegrate in thin air, as the New Jersey Devils scored three goals to kick off the second to erase a 3-0 deficit, and they would add another to take the lead into the third. Then, the Capitals woke back up, and it was enough to escape with a win.
Washington got the game-tying goal from Dylan Strome and a go-ahead goal from Connor McMichael in the third, and Alex Ovechkin clinched the 6-4 victory with an empty-netter to overcome a second-period collapse and capture two points.
Here are all the takeaways from the wild win:
Capitals Finally Break Out To Go Up 3-0 With Huge Start, Blow Lead & Fall Apart In First Half Of Second
To kick off the night, everything looked good for the Capitals, who finally busted out after struggling to find offense at 5-on-5 to open the campaign.
Washington got on the board early, with Anthony Mantha finally connecting on a deceptive snipe to make it 1-0. Minutes later, Dylan Strome would finish off a great tic-tac-toe passing play courtesy of linemates Alex Ovechkin and Dylan Strome for a 2-0 lead. Sonny Milano would then pick up a good feed from T.J. Oshie and fire a quick shot high past Akira Schmid to put the Capitals ahead 3-0.
Not only was the offense clicking, but the defense was solid in front of Hunter Shepard, who made his NHL debut with his parents in the building.
Then, the second period happened.
Washington stepped off the gas as New Jersey easily tilted the ice, scoring three goals in a matter of 2:11 seconds to even the score and then taking the lead under four minutes later. Jack Hughes and company easily made it past the Capitals defense, and lapses in coverage gave the Devils the opportunity to easily steal the game back at Prudential Center.
It marked the second straight game that Washington gave up two goals in 48 seconds. The middle frame also saw New Jersey double up on Washington in shots, 14-7, and take the 16-15 shooting advantage in the game.
Capitals Come Back To Life In Third To Escape With Win
After what was likely a stern talking to after a lackluster, the Capitals came back out for the third with life and Shepard remaining in, and they packed a punch to save the game.
Strome kicked things off in the first two minutes with his second of the night to even the score on the power play, and minutes later, Mantha found McMichael alone in front to restore the lead for Washington.
The Capitals also tightened up defensively and got six more stops from Sheaprd, and Ovechkin sealed the deal with an empty-netter for the 6-4 win. It marked Shepard's first NHL win.
Rasmus Sandin Leaves Game With Injury
In the third period, Sandin took an odd hit from former Washington blueliner Jonas Siegenthaler in the third period and subsequently went to the bench and headed down the tunnel.
He didn't return. Here's what appeared to happen.
By The Numbers
Ovechkin's empty-netter marked his second goal in as many games. He is 71 goals away from passing Wayne Gretzky on the NHL's all-time goals list, and he is also now the NHL's sole all-time era-adjusted goals leader. Ovechkin is also on a four-game point streak.
- Strome leads his club with four goals this season.
- Strome, Ovechkin, Mantha and Evgeny Kuznetsov all had multi-point efforts.
- John Carlson is on a five-game point streak.
- Nicklas Backstrom picked up his first point of the season. He ranks third in assists since making his NHL debut in 2006.
- Milano had a second goal, but was overturned after it was determined that Kuznetsov was offside.
- Matthew Phillips and Aliaksei Protas appeared to be benched.