Caps Down Devils, 5-2

With the Metropolitan Division tighter than any other division in the league this season, divisional games figure to grow in importance as the season wears on. Every game is worth two points, sure, but divisional contests also give teams the ability to lop a game off the schedule of a divisional foe without them getting anything.

Washington was able to deliver that treatment to the New Jersey Devils on Saturday night, ending the Devils' seven-game point streak (5-0-2) with a convincing 5-2 victory over the Devils.

Saturday's victory catapults the Caps over the Devils and into the top spot in the Metropolitan Division, though it must be noted that New Jersey holds two games in hand and still maintains a better points percentage than the Capitals (.658 to .637).

For the first time in a while, the Caps found themselves on the right side of the schedule, as New Jersey was in action for the second time in as many nights while Washington rested on Friday. The Caps were noticeably fresher throughout the game; their battle and compete levels were high, their legs looked fresher, and they were getting to pucks first all over the ice for most of the night.

"Execution to me equals speed," says caps coach Barry Trotz, who became the league's fifth winningest coach of all time by claiming his 737th victory as an NHL bench boss on Saturday. "If you can execute, then you're not reaching back for pucks and all that. We've been talking about that part of our game, that when you're really sharp and you're executing, it adds so much speed to your game."

The Caps got off to a strong start early in this one, and they ended a four-game first-period scoring drought before the game was even three minutes old.

Christian Djoos carried the puck down the left side of the ice in New Jersey territory, patiently surveying for a play. When he didn't see one to his liking, he carried behind and around the back of the Devils' cage. Tom Wilson found some space in the slot, and Djoos fed him perfectly. Wilson did the rest, snapping it past New Jersey netminder Cory Schneider for a 1-0 Washington lead at 2:26 of the first.

Just after the midway point of the first period, the Caps doubled that lead, making it a 2-0 game on a pretty tic-tac-toe play with Djoos converting at the back door off a pretty primary feed from Nicklas Backstrom at 11:09.

New Jersey got going late in the first frame, and the Devils were able to cut into the Caps lead just ahead of the first intermission. Devils center Travis Zajac made an excellent cross-ice feed for John Moore, who fired a one-timer past Caps goalie Braden Holtby with 2:25 left, making it a 2-1 game.

In the second, Djoos drew an offensive-zone holding call on Pavel Zacha, putting the Caps on the power play for the first time in the game. Washington took advantage of that opportunity to restore its two-goal lead, and it would maintain at least a two-goal cushion the rest of the way.

John Carlson crept down from point position to the top of the right circle to convert another sublime Backstrom feed, pounding the puck past Schneider for a 3-1 lead at 7:01 of the middle frame.

Washington went up by three goals early in the third when Matt Niskanen converted a back door, tic-tac-toe tally that looked similar to Djoos' first-period strike, but with Devante Smith-Pelly supplying the primary setup against his former employer. Niskanen's goal stretched the Caps' advantage to 4-1 at 4:25 of the third.

Just ahead of the midpoint of the period, the Devils again cut into the Caps' lead. Ex-Caps forward Marcus Johansson picked up his second helper of the night and the 300th point of his NHL career with a fine feed from center point to Zajac at the right post, leaving the latter with a short tap-in to make it a 4-2 game with 11 minutes remaining.

The Caps kept going north as New Jersey pushed to get back into it, and Washington was able to manage the puck and the game efficiently the rest of the way.

At 19:19 of the third, the Caps' No. 19 removed any remaining doubts when he took a head-manning feed from Carlson and tallied into a vacant New Jersey net to account for the 5-2 final.

"Washington came out and they were hungrier and a little harder on the puck," says Devils coach John Hynes. "They came out in the first 10 minute of the game playing to win, and we didn't."

Saturday's victory was the Caps second in as many games against the Devils this season; Washington also earned a 5-3 win over the Devils in Newark on Oct. 13. In both games, the Caps never trailed.

"That's a tough place to be in," says Moore. "We had a not very good game tonight. These are the games that you've got to find a way to be ready to go for the puck drop. Down the stretch, the rest of the year here, these Metro games - especially against a playoff team like this that has played in some big games - we have to make sure we bring our best. And we haven't done that in either of the games we played against them so far."

The Caps close out 2017 with their eighth straight home win, and they climb into sole possession of the catbird's seat in the Metro.

"I thought we were real detailed in a lot of our systematic approach," says Trotz. "I thought we were strong in terms of understanding how we could break them down a little bit, and we stayed to the process like we did [on Thursday] against the Bruins. We didn't deviate from our game a whole lot, we just sort of said, 'This is what we're going to do, and we're going to keep doing it. If you can beat us with something else, then go ahead, but we're going to do what we do.'"