Hall Yeah! Devils edge Caps in OT
10 Takeaways: Devils defeat Capitals 4-3 in OT
The win marks the first time since late 2016 the Devils have defeated the Caps, and the first time at home since 2014. With the victory, the Devils have pulled themselves within four points of first place in the Metropolitan Division.
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Here are 10 takeaways from the game:
1. Keith Kinkaid made his second consecutive start after posting a victory against the Islanders on Tuesday night. Kinkaid stopped 16 of 19 shots.
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2. The Devils took a 1-0 lead at 8:01 of the first period when Marcus Johansson set up Drew Stafford on a breakaway from the blue line. Stafford, with two Capitals defenders on his tail, went forehand to backhand to fool Capitals netminder Braden Holtby. The goal was the seventh in 33 games played for Stafford, and his second in three games since returning from being a healthy scratch for seven games.
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3. A game after recording the first fight of his career, the Devils captain Andy Greene scored just his third goal of the season. Playing in his 750th career game, Greene gave the Devils a 2-1 lead at 3:33 of the second period, when he squeaked a shot in glove side on Holtby. Taylor Hall landed a cross-ice pass right on Greene's stick for the goal. While Sami Vatanen earned the secondary assist, the 100th assist of his career.
4. Hall's assist was his team leading 30th of the season, and the 99th point of his career in a New Jersey Devils uniform. Hall is on pace for a career year, already with 47 points in 42 games this season. Hall's best season was 2013-14 in Edmonton, when he recorded 80 points in 75 games.
5. Coach John Hynes has been pleased with his team's commitment to defense. The Devils held the Capitals to just five shots on goal midway through the game. After taking the first four shots of the game, the Capitals were held to just six by the game's halfway mark. The Devils held the Capitals to just six in the second period, and 19 by the end of regulation.
The Devils also held the NHL leading scorer Alex Ovechkin to just 2 shots in regulation.
6. Brian Boyle continued to demonstrate his leadership skills when he stepped up to fight Capitals winger Tom Wilson after Wilson laid out Brian Gibbons with a huge hit along the boards. Boyle stepped in to show his displeasure with the hit, and was handed a two-minute minor, five-minute major and a 10-minute game misconduct.
7. Miles Wood turned on the jets after the Devils won a faceoff in their own zone midway through the second period. Wood skated out for a pass and went five-hole on Holtby for a 3-1 lead. Vatanen earned his second assist of the night on the play, and Nico Hischier notched his 20th assist of the season on the goal.
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8. The Devils' penalty kill was perfect on Thursday night. The Devils' penalty killers kept Washington silent on all five of their power plays.
9. The Devils took a 3-2 lead into the third period and skated their way to a victory. This should come as no surprise. Since the 2016-17 season, the Devils are 37-0-11 when leading after 40 minutes of play.
10. The Devils have posted their first victory against the Capitals since Dec. 29, 2016. New Jersey had not defeated Washington in their last five meetings.
