What Happened
Ryan Leonard evened the score late in the first period with a solo coast-to-coast goal, and the Washington Capitals went on to beat the New Jersey Devils 4-2 on Saturday afternoon. New Jersey had opened the scoring through Arsenal Gritsyuk on a power play. Washington took control with two goals in the first 4:46 of the second period from Ilya Protas and Dylan Strome, and Boone Jenner added another. Timo Meier scored for the Devils.
Key Details
- Leonard's goal came in the final seconds of a Washington power play and was his third of the season.
- Gritsyuk beat Logan Thompson through traffic on New Jersey's second power play of the first period.
- Protas scored off an Alex Ovechkin feed; Strome finished a passing play from Alex Tuch and Jordan Kyrou.
- Vincent Desharnais had two assists for Washington.
- The Capitals have won back-to-back games; the Devils are 4-4-0.
- Elsewhere, Nikolaj Ehlers scored a third-period power-play goal as Carolina beat Winnipeg for a seventh straight win.
What It Means
The win gives Washington consecutive victories and a balanced scoring effort beyond Leonard's individual highlight. New Jersey's 4-4-0 start leaves the Devils at .500 through eight games, with the loss coming after they had taken an early lead on the power play.