POSTGAME NOTEBOOK: Caps 4, Devils 3

Apple Of My Eye - It was 14 years ago this month that Nicklas Backstrom - then a 20-year-old NHL rookie - and his Caps teammates put on a furious late season surge that culminated in Washington reaching the Stanley Cup playoffs for the first time after a five-year absence from the tournament. Washington won each of its last seven games that season to win the Southeast Division on the final day of the season, after trailing frontrunning Carolina by seven points with seven games to go.

That seven-game winning streak came at a time when Washington was the only team in the NHL that had not managed a winning streak of even five games over the previous seven years, and it sparked the rabid Caps hockey fandom that has permeated this region ever since, as the team has gone on to reach the playoffs in 13 of the last 14 seasons, winning a Stanley Cup and a trio of Presidents' Trophies along the way.
On Saturday night at Capital One Arena, an energetic crowd was treated to a stirring pregame ceremony to honor Backstrom for the achievement of his 1,000th NHL point earlier this month, on March 9 in Edmonton. Fans in attendance were given a small rubbery "apple," a cute commemorative tchotchke to honor Backstrom's 741 career assists (or, "apples"), the most in Washington's franchise history.
When Backstrom was similarly feted here nearly a year ago (last April 15) on the occasion of his 1,000th career NHL game, the building was bereft of fans, and the Caps laid an egg in a 5-1 loss to the Buffalo Sabres. A house full of fans armed with commemorative apples made certain that this Saturday night would not end in anticlimactic awkwardness.
The Caps entered the third period trailing the New Jersey Devils 2-1, which has been a frequent occurrence of late, as have rousing comebacks from those deficits. Connor McMichael tied the game on a nifty tic-tac-toe play during a delayed penalty at 2:08 of the third, and then, at 6:56 of the third, Backstrom himself scored on his night, sparking a spontaneous eruption and outpouring of sincere and unbridled affection for No. 19, aptly punctuated with the onslaught of apples.
Fans erupted in applause, the barn became playoff-level loud, and tiny red apples rained down upon the ice in the dozens and then in the hundreds. It was quite a sight to see, and no one who was there will ever forget it.
"It's great just to be involved in the experience," says Caps winger T.J. Oshie. "A lot of us are just super lucky to be a part of two amazing careers with Nick and [Alex Ovechkin] and to see these milestones.
"Anyone that knows hockey or watches the Caps knows that those thousand-plus points that he's got, there's not one selfish one in there. His teammates realize that and respect the hell out of him, and love him like a brother. To be here to share this moment with him and his family is just really, really cool and just one of those highlights that we'll have of our career that's not necessarily about us, but we can say that we were there and we saw it and felt the emotion. Super cool night for us, and we're all very proud of Nick."
In addition to scoring the goal that put the Caps ahead for good, Backstrom capped the night off with an apple of his own, an assist on Ovechkin's game-winning goal on the power play, the 772nd goal of the Caps' captain's career.
"I think it goes to show how lucky Washington, D.C. sports fans are that they get to see these things," says Oshie. "Not every team has played like these two guys that have been here the whole time and have been in the top of the League for their whole careers. We're all enjoying it with them, and I can't elaborate on it enough, that it's something special that's going on and I hope all the fans - and I think they do - realize how cool this is to be a part of it."
"It was obviously a great night and a fun night," says Backstrom. "A little emotional at the start, and then we played a game right after. But obviously it finished the way me and the team wanted, with a win. So that was obviously good."
Double Sawbuck - Washington winger Tom Wilson started the scoring for the Caps early in the second period, taking a patient feed from Conor Sheary and scoring his 20th goal of the season on a 2-on-1 rush.
This season is the third in the last four in which Wilson has reached the 20-goal plateau, and he has also achieved a single-season career high with 46 points in 2021-22.
"It's a really tough League to score in, so anytime you can do that, it's pretty special," says Wilson. "It's something that you really work hard at, and it's nice when they're going in. So I'll enjoy it and then just move on."
Comeback Story - In six of their nine wins this month, the Capitals have rallied from a third-period deficit to pick up a pair of points, with Saturday's win over the Devils being the latest example.
Down 2-1 heading to the third, the Caps killed off the lion's share of a carryover New Jersey power play and tied the game just over a minute later when McMichael scored on a delayed Devils penalty. Goals from Backstrom and Ovechkin followed, Vitek Vanecek sprinkled in some timely saves, and the Caps claimed the two points at night's end.
"When you're down going into the third and you can pull it out," says Wilson, "it's a testament to the group, and the character and the leadership. We keep our head down and work, and we have that belief in the room that we can get it done."
Down On The Farm - The AHL Hershey Bears spent Saturday night in Hartford where they took a 4-3 shootout loss at the hands of the Wolf Pack.
Down 3-0 midway through the middle frame and playing on the road for the second time in as many nights, the Bears began to dig their way out of the ditch when Garrett Pilon scored his 16th goal of the season on a power play at 14:40 of the second to make it 3-1. Bobby Nardella and Aliaksei Protas collected assists on the play.
Less than two minutes later, the Bears pulled to within one on another power play goal, this one from Mason Morelli at 16:26. Alex Alexeyev and Lucas Johansen supplied the assists on Morelli's eighth of the season.
At 8:57, Mike Vecchione tied the game for Hershey with his 13th goal of the season, getting help from Brett Leason and Protas.
Pheonix Copley (15-8-5) stopped 19 of 22 shots in the loss in the Hershey nets.
The 30-24-5-4 Bears will continue pursuit of the 3,000th victory in franchise history on Friday in Charlotte against the Checkers.
By The Numbers - John Carlson led the Caps with 24:11 in ice time … Wilson led the Caps with four shots on net and Lars Eller led Washington with six shot attempts … Ovechkin, Eller, Garnet Hathaway and Martin Fehervary each had three hits to lead the team … Each of Washington's six defensemen blocked two shots, as did forwards Conor Sheary and Marcus Johansen, to tie for the team lead.