Capitals: Top 3 impact players to watch against Devils

NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 20: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with teammate John Carlson #74 after Carlson scored a goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game on November 20, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
NEWARK, NJ - DECEMBER 20: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals celebrates with teammate John Carlson #74 after Carlson scored a goal in the third period of an NHL hockey game on November 20, 2019 at the Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey. (Photo by Paul Bereswill/Getty Images)
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WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 20: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals in action against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
WASHINGTON, DC – FEBRUARY 20: Alex Ovechkin #8 of the Washington Capitals in action against the Montreal Canadiens during the third period at Capital One Arena on February 20, 2020 in Washington, DC. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)

The Washington Capitals begin a back-to-back weekend stretch this afternoon in New Jersey.

The Washington Capitals are struggling and head into this game having dropped three in a row including an overtime defeat on home ice to the Montreal Canadiens. It was a contest that the Capitals fought hard in but came up short.

Alex Ovechkin got the Caps on the board to start things out with a goal right off the face-off draw for goal number 699. It came at 7:29 in the first period and Nicklas Backstrom had the assist.

The Canadiens tied it with a goal from Shea Weber at 17:43. 1-1 was the score after 20 with the Caps outshooting the Canadiens 9-7.

The Caps took the lead in the second period at 17:03 with a wraparound goal from Lars Eller for his 15th of the year. Carl Hagelin and Richard Panik had the helpers.

Brendan Gallagher tied it one minute and 34 seconds later. 2-2 was the score after two. The Caps were outshot 17-12 in the second period. The Canadiens took the lead with a tally from Ben Chiarot 30 seconds into the third.

After the Caps pulled their goalie for an extra attacker, they got the game tying goal with 20.1 seconds left thanks to Tom Wilson jamming it in the net for his 18th goal of the season.

Chiarot won the game in overtime 58 seconds in to give the Caps their third loss in a row. They look to turn it around this afternoon against the Devils. Here are the top 3 players to watch.