Devils’ streak foiled by Caps
WASHINGTON — Nicklas Backstrom and John Carlson had a goal and two assists each, Alex Ovechkin had three assists and the Washington Capitals beat the Devils, 5-2, on Saturday night to move the atop Metropolitan Division. Braden Holtby stopped 25 shots as Washington won its eighth straight home game. Christian Djoos had a goal and an assist, and Tom Wilson and Matt Niskanen also scored for the Capitals. The Devils had gone eight games without a regulation loss. John Moore scored late in the first period and Travis Zajac midway through the third. Corey Schneider stopped 30 shots.
“They came out the first 10 minutes of the game, playing to win, and we didn’t,” Devils coach John Hynes said. “This was a big game. You can see Washington came to play. It was important to them, and it was important to us. They were the better team tonight.” Marcus Johansson played in his first game as a visitor in Washington after seven seasons with the Capitals and assisted on both goals. Wilson got the game’s first goal, his sixth of the season, beating Schneider at 2:26 in the first period. Djoos gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead at 11:09. It was Djoos’ third goal this season and his first since Oct. 21. The win was Washington coach Barry Trotz’s 737th. He’s now in fifth place on the career list, passing Lindy Ruff. —AP