Devils Vs Capitals February 23, 2013 Game Review

Capitals players celebrate Alex Ovechkin hat trick against Devils in Washington, DC on February 23, 2013.
Photo © Alex Brandon / AP Photo.

Washington Capitals 5 Vs New Jersey Devils 1 = Home Game Win

The Washington Capitals bounced back into winning form, in a big way, on Saturday afternoon - February 23, 2013. Facing the New Jersey Devils at home, for the second consecutive time, the Capitals' offense came alive.

The offense of superstar winger Alex Ovechkin definitively came alive. Though he had been starting to create scoring chances more often in recent games, he had "only" five goals in the first 16 games of the -2012--2013 NHL season.

Ovechkin scored his sixth goal, the first of this game, five minutes into the second period. He would then go on to score another at the beginning of the third, and then yet another goal about five minutes before the end of the game. The hat trick, the eleventh of Alex's NHL career, is his first since January 22, 2011. It's also the first time he has scored a hat trick on home ice in over three years.

Capitals center Mike Ribeiro and forward Jason Chimera assisted on the first goal of the game, while forward Matt Hendricks and defenseman Jeff Schultz helped out on the next one. Ovechkin's eighth goal of the season came about with the assistance of Ribeiro again, along with fellow centerman Nicklas Backstrom.

Ovie's three goals (on seven shots) would have been enough to beat New Jersey's lone goal, which came from the Devils' own superstar forward Ilya Kovalchuk, but Washington also got a nifty wrap-around short-handed goal from Eric Fehr (RW), early in period three. About three minutes before the end of the game, Alex Ovechkin and young Caps defenseman Tomas Kundratek combined to help Troy Brouwer (F) score the fifth and final goal for the Capitals.

Special-teams came up big for the Caps, at both ends of the ice. Not only did they get a shorty from Eric Fehr (RW), while killing off a penalty, but the last two goals came while on power-plays. In the end, Washington killed off four penalties in all, while scoring on two of their three power-play chances.

While the Capitals were blasting Devils goaltender Johan Hedberg, they kept the Devils to only one tally, and minimized their opponents scoring chances overall. Washington outshot New Jersey 26 to 22. The Caps had been outshot in 11 of their first 16 games. They had also lost 11 of those games. Maybe there's a connection, well with most of those games, anyway.

Braden Holtby was excellent in net, for the Capitals. He only failed to stop one shot, out of 22, including a penalty shot by Steve Bernier (RW). After a shaky season start, much like last season, he seems to be well settled in now.

Mike Ribeiro may be the current scoring leader in Washington, with (6 G, 15 A) 21 points, but I wouldn't be surprised to see Alex Ovechkin (8 G + 6 A = 14 points) catch up with him real soon. Meanwhile, offensive defenseman Mike Green, who missed his third straight game with a groin injury, would surely like to just get back in play.

This was the last time the Capitals and the Devils were scheduled to meet, for this regular season, anyway. That's really too bad, since this win marks the only time Washington has beaten a top eight, playoff contending team this season.

Game Highlights: New Jersey Devils At Washington Capitals On February 23, 2013

Caps Postgame Locker Room 02/23/13: Caps players Braden Holtby, Nicklas Backstrom, Troy Brouwer and Joel Ward address the media after a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Alex Ovechkin Postgame 02/23/13: Caps captain Alex Ovechkin addresses the media after scoring a hat trick in the Caps 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Adam Oates Postgame 02/23/13 Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a 5-1 win over the New Jersey Devils.

Devils Vs Capitals February 21, 2013 Game Review

Devils' Ilya Kovalchuk scores GWG on Capitals' Braden Holtby in Washington, DC February 21, 2013.
Photo © Alex Brandon / AP Photo.

New Jersey Devils 3 Vs Washington Capitals 2 = Home Game Loss

The Washington Capitals hit the one-third mark of the short 48 game -2012--2013 NHL season with another tough loss. It was the sixth straight game that they had scored the first goal, but as usual for the Capitals, that was not a good indicator of how the game would go.

This was also the sixth straight start for Caps' goaltender Braden Holtby, as they faced Martin Brodeur (G) and the New Jersey Devils. Washington had won three of their last four games, while New Jersey had lost three of their last four.

The Capitals have done well on the power-play, recently. Over the last seven games, they had scored eight goals on their last nineteen chances, making them fourth in the league. About nine-and-a-half minutes into period two, the Caps got the first goal again, and it came on the power-play. Troy Brouwer (F) had his shot blocked, but Mathieu Perreault (C) was right behind him, and Perreault's wrister got through Brodeur.

Unfortunately, the Devils' Patrik Elias (LW) scored a short-handed goal about a minute-and-a-half later. So much for New Jersey not doing well on the penalty kill. Shortly after that, with Washington on the PP again, center Mike Ribeiro scored his sixth goal of the season. Again, Troy Brouwer with the primary assist, while Caps' centerman Nicklas Backstrom provided the other helper.

The third period was just plain ugly. Washington has had penalty trouble in a lot of their games, this season. Like in a few of those games, the referees were more than a bit "helpful" in adding minutes to the Cap's penalty stats. The Capitals suffered seven of the eight penalties called, including the last six straight.

Andrei Loktionov (C) scored an even-strength goal for New Jersey in between a couple of those penalties, about nine minutes through the period. With Washington trying to kill yet another penalty a couple minutes later, Ilya Kovalchuk (RW) scored the game-winning PPG for the New Jersey.

There is both good news and bad news for the Capitals. The bad news is that one-third of the season is gone, they are still committing far too many penalties, and they have to face the Devils again on Saturday. The good news is they still have two-thirds of the season to go, and they face the Devils again on Saturday.

Game Highlights: New Jersey Devils At Washington Capitals February 21, 2013

Caps Postgame Locker Room 02/21/13: Caps players Jay Beagle, Nicklas Backstrom, Braden Holtby and Karl Alzner address the media after a 3-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils.

Adam Oates Postgame 02/21/13: Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a 3-2 loss against the New Jersey Devils.

Capitals Vs Devils January 25, 2013 Game Review

Caps goalie Michal Neuvirth run over in second period, stayed sharp - Newark, NJ January 25, 2013.
Photo © Mel Evans / AP Photo.

Washington Capitals 2 Vs New Jersey Devils 3 = Road Game OT Loss

Friday night - January 25, 2013, the Washington Capitals were on the road, visiting the New Jersey Devils. It was the fourth game of the season, and the Washington was still looking for their first point. With an overtime loss, that's all they brought back home.

The road trip was the second of the season for the Capitals. It was the first return to New Jersey for former Devils assistant coach, and now current Capitals head coach, Adam Oates.

Michal Neuvirth started his second game in net for the Caps. While he was sharp in his first game, he was magnificent in this one. Though all the guys played better this time, Neuvirth was the player that kept them in the game most of all. His positioning was solid, and he moved very quickly, when he needed to. With Washington's current propensity for committing penalties, his performance would turn out to be very important.

After striking first in period one, New Jersey scored their only power-play goal late in the second. That Patrik Elias (LW) PPG came during a five-on-three situation, something the Capitals have had a lot of trouble with so far this season.

Washington scored twice in the third period. The first time was a power-play goal by Mike Ribeiro (C), with Joel Ward (RW) and Mike Green (D) assisting. The second, came unassisted from Mike Green (D), with both teams at full strength. It also tied the game, sending it into overtime.

It was great, because we finally had a few minutes were it looked like the Caps actually had a chance at winning a game. However, with less than thirty seconds left, Ilya Kovalchuk (RW) sent a wrister into the net.

What changes will we see in the Capitals' next game? The lines will probably be shaken up even more than we've seen so far. Is the Alex Ovechkin on right-wing experiment over? He always ended up drifting back over to the left side anyway.

The worst part about the Capitals having a bad start in this short season, is that they don't have much time to turn things around. The good part is that it will make the season seem much longer, if they keep doing so poorly.

Washington Capitals At New Jersey Devils January 25, 2013 Game Highlights

Caps Postgame Locker Room 01/25/13: Caps players Mike Ribeiro, Michal Neuvirth and Karl Alzner address the media after a 3-2 OT/loss against the New Jersey Devils.

Adam Oates Postgame 01/25/13: Caps head coach Adam Oates addresses the media after a 3-2 OT/loss against the New Jersey Devils.