Jakob Chychrun followed up his shot to score the game-winner with 54 seconds left in overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 win over the New Jersey Devils on Saturday in Newark, N.J.
Chychrun, who entered Saturday tied with Columbus’ Zach Werenski for the league lead in goals by defensemen, notched his 15th of the season after he entered the offensive zone with the puck. Jake Allen stopped his initial shot, but a crashing Chychrun swatted the airborne puck past the Devils goalie to end the Capitals’ three-game skid (0-2-1).
Aliaksei Protas scored a goal and assisted on two for the Capitals. Alex Ovechkin ended a nine-game goalless drought with his game-tying third-period score that forced overtime and assisted on Protas’ first-period goal. Anthony Beauvillier found the net for the first time since Dec. 2.
Logan Thompson stopped 35 shots.
Jesper Bratt scored twice for the Devils, with Cody Glass getting his seventh of the season. Allen made 29 saves, but New Jersey recorded its third straight defeat.
The Capitals took the lead in the last second of the first period when Protas swatted the puck past Allen in the crease. Ovechkin set up the goal by flinging a crossing pass to his wide-open teammate.
Bratt tied the contest at 15:04 left in the second on a power play. Stefan Noesen and Nico Hischier both had the puck in the low slot, with Hischier’s attempt trickling to Bratt, who found enough daylight between Thompson and the right post.
Washington reclaimed the lead with 2:27 left in the period, thanks to Protas. He intercepted a Jack Hughes pass in the Devils’ zone, and Beauvillier snapped the go-ahead goal, his seventh of the season, past Allen from the slot.
New Jersey thought its fortunes had changed in the span of 32 seconds in the third. Bratt’s second of the night and eighth of the season tied the game with 13 minutes left in regulation. The Devils then claimed their first lead when Brenden Dillon sprung Connor Brown for a breakaway. Brown found an open Glass, who scored from the low slot.
Ovechkin, though, forced overtime when he beat Allen off a feed from Rasmus Sandin with 10:43 remaining in regulation.
–Field Level Media
