WASHINGTON, D.C. - Despite a slower start in which the Capitals scored first, the Devils bounced back and pulled off a 5-3 win. Paul Cotter's two goals led New Jersey while Stefan Noesen and Erik Haula each had three assists. Seamus Casey, Tomas Tatar, and Dawson Mercer (empty net) each had a goal in the win.
"I thought our guys played hard," Devils head coach Sheldon Keefe said after the win. "I liked our response each time we got scored on. It could have been momentum changing or game changing type of moments in the game, especially on the road, but (they) just stayed with it. I thought we did a lot of really good things."
Noesen agreed with Keefe on the Devils response to goals against.
"I liked the way we competed," Noesen shared. "Every time we got a goal scored against, the next couple shifts were really big for us. We kind of changed momentum of the game. They're a good team, (they have) one of the best goal scorers in the game. So you got to respect him and respect the other guys on that team."
John Carlson opened the scoring with his power play goal 10:48 into the game. The Capitals won the faceoff, moved the puck around and found the veteran blue liner who capitalized. Tom Wilson was net front screening to help his teammate beat Jacob Markstrom.
Seamus Casey tied the game at 1-1, three and a half minutes later. Casey’s second career NHL goal looked similar to his first as a toe drag created space and the blue liner’s quick release helped him get past Lindgren.
"He's got a lot of confidence in his ability on offense," Keefe said on Casey's goal. "That's why we trust him in those situations, power play, and such. That's a big goal for us to get us going like that. He shows that he has that ability, that's two now. It's essentially the same kind of move to get into that space but he mixes up the shots to different areas of the net, so big goal, big moment for us."
A tic-tac-toe play with Haula, Noesen, and Cotter helped the Devils take a 2-1 lead with 3:36 left in the opening frame. After Cotter entered the zone he dished it to Haula who then passed it across to Noesen. Noesen saw Cotter driving in and fed it to his linemate who redirected it past Lindgren.
"He definitely doesn't lack confidence," Noesen joked about Cotter. "That's one thing we like about him."
The Capitals came out firing in the second period and Dylan Strome capitalized on rebound down low to tie the game, 2-2. However, three and a half minutes later, Tomas Tatar’s shot off his own rebound gave the Devils back their lead, this time 3-2. Tatar was falling while he executed the play. Credit due to Noesen and his strong play behind the net to set up Tatar.
In the final seven minutes of the second period, Noesen showed off his playmaking abilities again. He jumped on a loose puck, drove to the net, saw Cotter open and dished it to his linemate. From there, Cotter’s strong shot streaked past Lindgren to give the Devils a 4-2 lead.
A minute and a half into the third period, Wilson scored on a feed from Connor McMichael to bring the game within one. It was the second straight period in which Washington was able to score in the opening two minutes.
The Capitals pulled their goalie with 1:31 left in regulation to try to get the game tying goal; however, big saves from Jacob Markstrom helped New Jersey hold on and Mercer's empty net goal with 7.9 seconds left sealed the win. With the victory, the Devils improve to 3-1-0 and quickly rebound from Thursday's loss.
"It's a good test," Cotter said about the win. "Stuff like that's going to happen all year. You're going to go up, you're going to go down. And that third goal that they had, I wasn't too happy with that one with myself. But the boys found a way to kill some penalties and managed to hang on and it shows some pretty good persistency from our team to hold them off."
