In a battle between two teams with not much hope of making the postseason, the Caps and Devils hit the ice and actually put together a very entertaining, energetic game that thankfully went the Caps’ way. Logan Thompson stood tall at one end while Jake Allen matched him almost save for save at the other – but it was the one from Ryan Leonard that beat Allen and put the Caps on top for most of the game.
About halfway through the first period, the Caps set up shop in the offensive zone and began the cycle game, having hit the net just once to that point. Brandon Duhaime disrupted an attempted clear by the Devils, knocking the puck away and sending it to Trevor van Riemsdyk. TvR then moved it back to Duhaime, who attempted to get the puck on net, only to have it blocked.
The resulting bounce off the New Jersey defender flew way out to the blue line – unluckily for the Devils, however, Ryan Leonard had just jumped on the ice. He snagged the puck out of the air, dropped it to his stick, and fired it past Allen before anyone could stop him:
That would be the entire offense for the game until a little less than two minutes left in regulation, when Aliaksei Protas sent a long shot from his own zone into the empty net…a goal that would become the game-winner after Jesper Bratt busted Thompson’s shutout with about 43 seconds left in regulation.
Next up? The league-leading Colorado Avalanche arrive in town for a matinee to round out the homestand. The Avs have come back to earth a bit as of late, but they’re still incredibly dangerous.