It’s been almost two full years since the New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals. Yes, there has been a whole pandemic since then and that has disrupted the schedule three times, but it still doesn’t account for the fact the Devils have lost to the Capitals nine times in that span. It’s been 680 days since the Devils and Capitals played and the Devils came out the victors. That terrible streak ended on Sunday afternoon when the Devils overcame a few blunders to take the game in overtime.
Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier joined forced to play hero in overtime. Hughes stole the puck off the stick of Dmitri Orlov and did a spinning pass to Hischier. The captain collected the puck and shot it far side past the Caps goalie. It was a huge goal as the Devils blew a two-goal lead in the third period, securing a point for the Caps.
Mackenzie Blackwood had one of the worst plays of the season when he passed the puck right to Lars Eller who found a wide-open Connor Sheary for a goal. It was the type of play that Devils fans are used to seeing when the team is leading in a season where it seems like everything is going wrong.
This play was awful by Blackwood, and it just hints at the season he’s had, but he had two plays where he absolutely bailed out bad plays by the skaters. In regulation, Jack Hughes made a terrible pass to start a 2-on-0, and Blackwood got over to stop the puck with his leg pad (and thanks to the crossbar). In overtime, he stopped another man alone when a bad pass by Severson was intercepted.
It seemed like for once, the Devils were getting the breaks after they gave up the lead. That’s not what’s happened versus the Capitals seemingly ever. In their nine-game losing streak, the Devils lose two games in overtime and lost four other times by just one goal. They weren’t getting the bounces when they needed them. That finally happened on Sunday evening. Hughes stole the puck, and Hischier never left his post. If Hughes gave up on the play after his centering pass failed or if Hischier skated back to play defense, the Devils probably lose the game. Instead, they are celebrating their third win in a row.