Devils 3, Capitals 2 (SO)
David Clarkson scored the shootout winner in the fourth round as the visiting New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 on Saturday to split the home-and-home series.
Zach Parise also converted for New Jersey in the shootout and Alex Ovechkin did the same for Washington.
New Jersey battled back to tie the game 2-2 with a pair of goals in the second period. Petr Sykora whipped a shot past Washington goalie Michal Neuvirth after a faceoff at 7:42. Ryan Carter later redirected Bryce Salvador’s pass into the net at 18:54.
The Devils killed five Washington power plays, one of which extended into overtime, improving to 24-for-24 the last seven games. The Caps were held without a shot for more than 12 minutes, starting with 5:45 left in the second.
The Caps took the lead 6:30 into the game when Troy Brouwer swiped a pass by Adam Henrique and went in alone to beat Devils goalie Johan Hedberg. John Carlson’s blast from the right point went in off Jason Chimera’s leg to make it 2-0 at 16:10 of the first.
Ovechkin, still without a goal at home this season, had a season-high 11 hits.
With blue-liners Mike Green and John Erskine out injured, forward Brooks Laich played on defense. Laich has shown his versatility before, playing a few shifts back there.