It was a wild night at Capital One Arena to close out the season ahead of what will likely be a lengthy offseason for the Capitals.
WASHINGTON -- It was a fun night to open action at Capital One Arena, filled with tricks, fanfare and passion as the Washington Capitals left it all on the ice to close out their season. However, as has been the story this season, things fell apart in the second half -- and it cost them.
Washington jumped out to a 4-1 lead, but the Devils rallied back to force overtime and ultimately, win 5-4 on Luke Hughes' first NHL goals.
Here are all the takeaways from the loss:
Craig Smith Pulls Off Prank Of Year For 200th Career Goal
With his team already up 2-0 thanks to Joe Snively and Rasmus Sandin, Craig Smith found himself with a lot of open ice in the offensive zone, and Jack Hughes with the puck. So, he decided to run a little experiment and call out for the puck.
"Figured I’d give him a holler and see if he’d throw it over," he grinned on the broadcast.
It worked, as Hughes mistook him for a teammate and threw a perfect tape-to-tape pass to Smith in the slot. Smith made no mistake, sniping home his ninth of the season.
It marked Smith's 200th career goal, and he ended his year with goals in two of his final three games in D.C.
Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome Stay Hot
Not only did everyone contribute to the Capitals' success on Thursday, but Tom Wilson and Dylan Strome delivered once again.
Wilson struck in the second to restore the three-goal lead for his team with his 13th of the season. He finished the campaign on a four-game goal scoring streak.
Meanwhile, Strome assisted on that tally, making it six consecutive games with a point.
Strong Start Evaporates As Things Fall Apart In Second Half
As has been a pattern this season, things fell apart for the Capitals in the second half of the game. New Jersey tilted the ice, and it paid off as Darcy Kuemper, who was on point to open the game, faltered and got little help in front of him, too.
Additional Ice Chips
- Alex Ovechkin got an assist in his return from injury for his 75th point in 73 games to close things out. He finished on a three-game point streak.
- Sonny Milano got an assist, ending a six-game point drought . He finished the season with 34 points in 64 games.
- Nicklas Backstrom finished his season with 21 points in 39 appearances while making an inspiring comeback from hip resurfacing surgery. He also had points in four of his final six games.