Takeaways: Capitals Overpowered By Devils, Out Of Sync In 6-3 Loss

WASHINGTON — Just 24 hours after one of their best starts of the season, the Washington Capitals couldn't find the same momentum against the New Jersey Devils. And it proved costly in an eventual loss.

Despite a rally and signs of life, along with multi-point efforts from Evgeny Kuznetsov and Alex Ovechkin, the Capitals couldn't overcome their struggles and ultimately fell 6-3 after being overpowered by New Jersey.

Here are all the takeaways from the defeat

Washington had started strong just 24 hours ago, but the team couldn't replicate that at Capital One Arena against the high-flying Devils' offense.

Nico Hischier put his team up 1-0 just 3:03 minutes into the game, and minutes later, he scored his second by tipping a Luke Hughes' blast from the point past Hunter Shepard for a 2-0 lead.

After clawing back within one, Dawson Mercer put the Devils up 3-1 early in the second. With 16 seconds left in the period and just 46 seconds after John Carlson had evened the score, New Jersey would beat Washington on a rush up ice. From there, Michael McLeod was able to beat Shepard, who had his pads open, on a nice spin move to reclaim the lead for the Devils, 4-3.

Mercer and McLeod would strike again in the third to put the final nails in the coffin. The Capitals couldn't come back, as the team struggled to generate much or get on the same page despite managing three goals for the second straight game.

Overall, it was a rough night, as Washington struggled early to get in sync and found themselves out-pressured and outplayed. It was also a rough night in net overall for Shepard, who stopped 22 of 28 shots.

The Capitals needed a spark to get back in the game, and when they got two power-play opportunities, they made the most of them.

Connor McMichael gave the team the first goal of the game late in the first on a pivotal power-play, firing a sharp-angle shot past Nico Daws to make it 2-1. It marked his second of the season.

Rasmus Sandin and Anthony Mantha got the assists. Sandin now has helpers in four of his last five games, and Mantha has points in six of the last eight games overall.

Later on in the second, in need of a game-tying goal with the period winding down, Carlson would put an end to a lengthy 32-game drought with a power-play goal., and he also became the third Capitals player to hit the 20-point mark this season.

Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov picked up the assists to add to their multi-point nights. Ovechkin now has points in three straight games.

Overall, the power play did a good job besides getting on the board, as both units worked to keep the play alive, generate pressure and create high-danger chances that ultimately found the back of the net.

It went 2-for-4 on the night, as the team gave up a delayed penalty on its third attempt and had just eight seconds on its final chance to close out the night.

It had been 10 games since Kuznetsov last found the scoresheet, and on Wednesday, No. 92 was able to finally bust out and get on the board.

The play started with Martin Fehervary, who made a great stretch pass to Ovechkin, who'd just gotten off the bench. Ovechkin then made a great play up to Kuznetsov, who shot a bouncing puck past Daws to pull his team within one.

It marked Kuznetsov's sixth goal of the season and first in 11 games. He also added an assist, moving him to fifth on the franchise's all-time assists leaderboard. Wednesday also marked his first multi-point game since Nov. 10.

Nearly a year after re-tearing his Achilles just five games into his return from the initial injury in August 2022, Max Pacioretty made his triumphant return to the ice with the Capitals for his season debut.

Pacioretty skated on the third line with Dylan Strome and Matthew Phillips. He didn't get too much time in his first outing, skating just 11:47 minutes as he got reacclimated to NHL speed while adjusting to Washington's systems.

The 35-year-old finished the night with one shot attempt, two hits, one block and a plus/minus rating of minus-1.