Capitals dominate Devils, vault to top of Metropolitan
WASHINGTON -- Three defensemen scored goals as the Washington Capitals continued their dominance of the New Jersey Devils with a 5-2 victory Saturday that propelled them into first place in the Metropolitan Division.
The Capitals didn't take long to once again assert their status in this rivalry, as young defenseman Christian Djoos showcased some nifty moves around the back of the net to find Tom Wilson, who poked the puck through a crowd in front of Cory Schneider to give Washington a 1-0 lead just 2:26 into the game.
Later in the period, Djoos was on the receiving end of some sweet passes from Alexander Ovechkin and Nicklas Backstrom, the latter of whom found Djoos staring at a wide-open net against a flailing Schneider to give the Capitals a 2-0 advantage.
John Carlson added a power-play blast in the second period and Matt Niskanen added another easy defenseman tally in the third to continue Washington's impressive blue-line performance.
Backstrom added an empty-netter as Washington moved to 8-0-1 in its last nine games against the Devils. Braden Holtby made 25 saves to improve to 14-3-2 against New Jersey, tied with Boston for his most wins against any opponent.
John Moore and Travis Zajac -- in his 800th NHL game -- scored for the Devils, who suffered their first regulation loss since Dec. 9.
The Devils had a couple opportunities to make things interesting, including when Brian Gibbons poked a pass away at the blue line and seemed on his way to a breakaway goal. But Washington's Chandler Stephenson got back just in time to ensure Gibbons couldn't get off a good shot.
Schneider made 30 saves for New Jersey (22-10-6), which fell one point behind the Capitals (24-13-3) as both teams closed out the calendar year. New Jersey hasn't defeated Washington in regulation since Nov. 14, 2014.
NOTES: With win number 737, Washington coach Barry Trotz passed Lindy Ruff for fifth place on the NHL's all-time wins list. ... The Devils acquired G Eddie Lack from Calgary on Saturday in exchange for D Dalton Prout. Lack, who was 1-2-0 with a 5.29 goals-against average in four games with the Flames, was reassigned to New Jersey's AHL team in Binghamton. ... Washington shuffled its lineup, with LW Andre Burakovsky and D Madison Bowey scratched in favor of C Chandler Stephenson and D Taylor Chorney. ... LW Alexander Ovechkin skated in his 961st game, tying Peter Bondra on the Capitals' all-time games played list. ... Devils LW Marcus Johansson was honored with a video tribute in the first period by Washington, the team with whom he played for eight seasons. ... New Jersey scratched RWs Jimmy Hayes and Drew Stafford and D Ben Lovejoy.