Hischier's two goals help Devils defeat Capitals

WASHINGTON -- Nico Hischier scored twice, and the New Jersey Devils got their first win in four games, 5-1 against the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Nikita Gusev, Blake Coleman and Miles Wood scored for New Jersey (16-21-7), which was 0-2-1 in its previous three. Louis Domingue made 33 saves.
Hischier has 10 points (six goals, four assists) in his past eight games.
WATCH: [All Devils vs. Capitals highlights]
"There's a reason the puck seems to be finding him," Devils coach Alain Nasreddine said of the center. "It's because he's in a good position, he's working for those opportunities. I'll never say it enough, but he works just as hard defensively as he does offensively, and that's why he's getting those chances, that's why he's getting rewarded."
Jakub Vrana scored, and Braden Holtby made 17 saves for Washington (30-11-5), which has lost two in a row.
"I think [our] execution wasn't there today," Vrana said. "Lots of bobbled pucks. Lots of missed passes. We weren't really sharp as we normally [are]."
Hischier gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 5:27 of the first period when he kept the puck on a 2-on-1 and beat Holtby through the five-hole with a wrist shot from just below the left face-off circle.

Gusev made it 2-0 when he knocked in the rebound of Will Butcher's shot at 3:28 of the second period.
"I just think our start was bad," Capitals forward Nic Dowd said. "I mean, it's our building, we had a Saturday night, lot of energy, and we didn't get the crowd into it too much, which I think is a big thing for our team."
With Wood serving a four-minute double minor, Coleman put the Devils ahead 3-0 when he scored shorthanded at 6:48.
The Capitals pulled within 3-1 on the same power play when Vrana got to a loose puck at the side of the net and scored his 20th goal of the season at 8:28.

"I thought our power play worked a lot harder tonight, which is good," Washington forward T.J. Oshie said. "We've just got to clean up some those chances against."
Hischier came off the bench and scored his second on a one-timer from the right circle off a cross-ice pass from Kyle Palmieri to make it 4-1 at 12:11.
"I was hoping [Palmieri] was going to see me there," Hischier said. "He saw me, so it was a great pass."
The Capitals had a 5-on-3 power play for 43 seconds midway through the third period but were unable to score.
"Heck of an effort from those guys on a 5-on-3," Coleman said of the Devils penalty kill. "Like I said, especially against guys like that can really bring some heat. So big kill, and none of that happens without solid goaltending, and Louis was outstanding."
Wood scored into an empty net at 15:04 of the third for the 5-1 final.

They said it

"Tonight, you see what kind of team we are when we have full commitment by all 19 guys that dressed up. … Washington is a really good team. It's not like we stole it. The guys earned it, and we deserved it. It's nice the message is getting through. The guys believe in it. They know if we play that way you're going to find success, and tonight's a great example." -- Devils coach Alain Nasreddine
"I just think we're going through a time in the season right now where we're not executing and we're not out-working the opponent. If you're not going to do those things, then you're not going to have success in this league. … That's not acceptable, that type of play. We don't give ourselves a chance to work hard because we don't manage the puck properly." -- Capitals coach Todd Reirden

Need to know

Forward Jesper Bratt returned for the Devils after missing three games with a lower-body injury and was plus-2 in 14:28. … Butcher had two assists. … Oshie was selected to the 2020 NHL All-Star Game after earning a spot via the NHL All-Star Last Men In presented by adidas fan vote, it was announced Saturday. Oshie, in his 12th NHL season, will play for the Metropolitan Division team in his first All-Star Game appearance Jan. 25 in St. Louis. … Capitals forward Richard Panik left the game after taking a stick to the face in the second period. Reirden said he doesn't expect him to be out.

What's next

Devils: Host the Tampa Bay Lightning on Sunday (7 p.m. ET; MSG+, SUN, NHL.TV)
Capitals: Host the Carolina Hurricanes on Monday (7 p.m. ET; ESPN+, NBCSWA, FS-CR, NHL.TV)