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Coming off a good road trip that saw them go 4-1-0, the Capitals came home to host the New Jersey Devils. And while the Devils don’t seem all that deadly on the surface, they have beaten the Boston Bruins three times (including a 1-0 shutout over the weekend), the New York Rangers twice, and the New York Islanders once.
There’s a saying that the first game back after a road trip is the toughest, but it looked like the Capitals were going to buck that trend by playing some great hockey… before absolutely falling apart then salvaging two points in overtime.
Plus: The first 40 minutes were really strong by the Capitals. They didn’t let themselves get into a trap game with the Devils and took control with smart passing and hard work. They took a 4-1 lead going into the third. But…
Minus: As has been a trend this when the Capitals take a multiple-goal lead, they took their foot off the gas and let the Devils come all the way back with three goals in a little more than seven minutes to tie it.
A few more notes on the game:
The Caps were able to hold on in regulation, picking up a much-needed point before handing things over to Jakub Vrana (who was pretty well-rested and probably shouldn’t have been) and his speed. This is just ridiculous:
Up next the Capitals head to Philly to take on the Flyers. Hopefully the Capitals learned something and bring a complete effort with them, because phoning in even a small part of a game against that team could be much more dangerous – as they know perfectly well from experience.