Tatar, Devils hold off Capitals for 4th win in 5 games

WASHINGTON -- Tomas Tatar had a goal and an assist, and the New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 3-2 at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Brenden Dillon and Dougie Hamilton also scored for the Devils (14-7-2), who have won four of five. Jake Allen made 23 saves and recorded his 200th NHL win.

“Didn’t love a lot about our game, quite honestly,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “But I thought we played smart enough defensively to limit a lot of what their strengths are defensively. Because of that we only need three [goals].”

Matt Roy and Connor McMichael scored for the Capitals (13-6-1), who have lost consecutive games for the first time this season. Charlie Lindgren made 30 saves.

“It’s frustrating to lose back-to-back,” Lindgren said. “I thought we did a lot of good things tonight, had some good [offensive]-zone time, had some good chances late. Their goalie made some big saves, and we lost 3-2.”

Roy gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 13:52 of the first period, scoring on a high wrist shot from the right point. It was the first goal as a Capital for Roy, who was signed as a free agent on July 1 and missed 10 games with a lower-body injury in the first month of the season.

Tatar tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 16:31. Erik Haula received a backdoor pass from Luke Hughes, and his shot trickled past Lindgren and came to a stop on the goal line before Tatar knocked it in.

“It was a great play by Luke and a good shot by Erik,” Tatar said. “I wasn’t sure really how he saved it, but I saw it trickling in, and then it stopped. I was just sprinting there to get the cookie. It was fortunate.”

Dillon made it 2-1 at 7:08 of the second period when he scored on a wrist shot from the left point that appeared to deflect off defenseman John Carlson’s stick. Dillon, signed as a free agent on July 1, scored his first goal as a Devil.

Hamilton increased the lead to 3-1 with a power-play goal at 15:42. Nico Hischier won a face-off to Jesper Bratt and he fed Hamilton, who scored on a wrist shot from the high slot.

McMichael pulled the Capitals within 3-2 at 4:54 of the third period, when he scored at the right post off a backdoor pass from Carlson at the bottom of the left circle on a power play.

“I saw Johnny hold onto the puck and I just snuck backdoor, and Johnny made a hell of a play,” McMichael said.

Allen made a save on McMichael’s slap shot during 6-on-5 play with 1:25 remaining and Dawson Mercer and Hischier had key blocks in the final minute.

“We knew Washington was going to have a push in the third, being down a couple,” Allen said. “And we found a way to get through it, especially the last probably two, two-and-a-half minutes. Some big blocks from the guys.”

NOTES: The Devils are 12-0-0 when leading after two periods. … Bratt has nine points (five goals, four assists) in his past five games. … Allen is 200-170-43 in 437 NHL games. … Washington entered the game 5-0-0 following a loss.