The Washington Capitals have secured four of a possible four points in their weekend series with the New Jersey Devils. The Capitals came out buzzing, slowed down a little later on in the game, but held on to secure a 3-2 win. This was their second win in as many days, and third win in a row.
Ilya Samsonov made his return to the NHL net after missing a lot of time after contracting COVID-19 and playing a stint in the minors with the Hershey Bears.
The Capitals started off hot, but a weak shot from Mikhail Maltsev 6:45 into the game made its way past Samsonov on only the Devils’ second shot of the game.
Washington responded roughly 10-minutes later on a rebound by Jakub Vrana, who buried his seventh of the season. The goal was a rebound on his own shot, but was assisted by Tom Wilson and Brenden Dillon. The score would remain 1-1 to end the first period.
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Early in the second period, Nicklas Backstrom continued his rampant pace he’s on this season and scored his 10th-goal and 25th point of the season which is the best start of a season he has ever had in the NHL. This goal was beautifully assisted by Wilson and Vrana.
The Devils would respond less than a minute later with a goal from Yegor Sharangovich, which was another one that I’m sure Samsonov would like to have back.
10 minutes later, Alex Ovechkin finally gets on the board after peppering Mackenzie Blackwood with shots all afternoon. Ovi corralled a Lars Eller pass in his feet and ripped a shot from near the top of the hashmarks. This was his seventh goal of the season and was also assisted by Nick Jensen.
During the second period, there was also a solid tilt between Brenden Dillon and Devils’ Nathan Bastian.
There would be no more goal scoring, and the Capitals held on to defeat the New Jersey Devils 3-2.
Ilya Samsonov looked a little shaky in his first game back after a long absence, but he managed to make 19 saves on 21 shots. I think, once he gets a few more games under his belt, his confidence will improve and so will his performance. It’s far too early to jump on the guy after missing that much NHL time and being bounced around between the taxi squad and AHL for weeks.
The Capitals return to action on March 3rd vs. the Boston Bruins. The puck will be dropped at 7pm EST, and can be viewed on NBCSN.