Is an old habit creeping in? “Devils start slow, penalties mean loss for Capitals”.

It appears the New Jersey Devils picked up an old habit as they suffered a 6-5 loss to the Washington Capitals on home ice on Saturday night.

In the season finale between the Devils and Capitals, New Jersey conceded the first goal of the game for the seventh consecutive time. The Devils gave up an NHL-worst 53 points early in a game last season, a habit that general manager Tom Fitzgerald certainly tried to improve with the addition of experienced defense and goaltending.

The Devils have proven to be more mature than last season, so this hasn’t been a big problem so far. After all, they are 4-3-0 in their last seven games. However, it is certainly a problem that needs to be nipped in the bud sooner or later before it is too late.

Let’s get into how it happened.

Devils summary

The Capitals got on the field first after Timo Meier missed a tripping error in the offensive zone. The Capitals moved the puck up the ice and Andrew Mangiapane collected his own rebound after the rush and scored. Later, Luke Hughes used deft speed and puck handling to get the puck to Charlie Lindgren, and Nico Hischier took advantage of the rebound opportunity to tie the game after the first 20 minutes.

Justin Dowling scored his second goal of the season to give the Devils a 2-1 lead. However, the Capitals collected three consecutive power play goals from Connor McMichael, Jakob Chychrun and Rasmus Sandin to take a 4-2 lead after two periods.

The Devils fought back at the start of the third period with two quick strikes from Stefan Noesen and Jesper Bratt and put the game away. However, Taylor Raddysh and Pierre-Luc Dubois regained the Capitals’ two-goal lead. Noesen scored a second goal even though the Devils’ net was empty, but it was too late as Washington held on and took the win.

Jake Allen made 26 saves on 32 shots and was 4/7 on penalties.

Takeaways

Old habits creeping in?

Seven times in a row is enough to call something a worrying trend, right? The Devils have conceded the first goal in exactly the same number of games in a row in the last two weeks.

That happened again on Saturday against the Capitals, and while they were able to fight back and tie the score, continuing to blow leads like the Devils did isn’t ideal.

Last season, that very habit was the Devils’ kryptonite. They allowed an NHL-worst 57 first goals, which ultimately gave them a free fall from the 112-point team they had two seasons ago.

No one is sounding the alarm yet, as the Devils have proven to be a much more mature and resilient team than in previous seasons. Still, the first third wasn’t great, apart from Jake Allen, who made a couple of great saves after 20 minutes to keep the game tied.

However, they need to nip this trend in the bud before it gets out of control.

Discipline destroys devils

Normally this season it is the Devils who own the middle frame. But on Saturday night, the Devils’ lack of discipline turned around and instead the Capitals took over the second period.

The Devils did it to themselves. Paul Cotter and Luke Hughes each picked up penalties for the Capitals, and Dawson Mercer was penalized with a double minor for tackling Dylan Strome too high and drawing blood.

The Capitals eventually scored three power play goals in the second period, which ultimately resulted in the Devils’ 2-1 lead disappearing and them trailing 4-2 after 40 minutes.

“For me, this is just a rare shootout night,” said head coach Sheldon Keefe. “But obviously a big part of the game. It’s 2-1, we’re playing 4-on-4, we have full possession of the puck in the offensive zone. And then we get a four-minute penalty. That’s the difference in the game.”

Fast switching processes

• Jack Hughes struggled, winning only 35.7% of faceoffs (5/14).
  • Hughes recorded a three-point night (0g,3a).
• Nico Hischier achieved 17/32 in the circle and won 53.1% of draws.
• Kurtis MacDermid only logged 02:46 minutes of ice time.

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