Chychrun the OT Hero as Capitals Take Down Devils 4-3

On Saturday, Dec. 27, the New Jersey Devils hosted the Washington Capitals. The Capitals took an early lead, but the Devils tried their best to stay even with the Capitals. Although the Devils gained their first lead in the third, Washington quickly evened the score again. The game went into overtime, and it was the Capitals who walked away with a 4-3 win.

Game Recap

With eight minutes left in the first, Dylan Strome scored first for the Capitals. After video review, it was determined the play was offsides and the goal was waved off.

Just seconds remained in the first and Alexander Ovechkin had the puck at the boards. He sent a pass to Aliaksei Protas in front of the net. His shot bounced off the crossbar and across the line for a buzzer beater goal to open the scoring.

Four minutes into the second, Brandon Duhaime took a seat for hooking Brett Pesce. Right off the faceoff, the Devils got to work in their zone. Luke Hughes took a shot from the blue line, but Logan Thompson made the save. The rebound found Nico Hischier in front of the net, and he passed it to Jesper Bratt on his right. His shot hit the empty corner of the net to tie the game.

Late in the second, the Devils tried to gain control of the puck in Washington’s zone, but Protas had other plans. He passed the puck up to Anthony Beauvillier. He went right up to the net and shot the puck over Allen for the lead once more.

Although the Capitals tried to knock the puck out of the Devils’ possession in the third period, the loose puck found Jesper Bratt. He skated it around, searching for a scoring opportunity. Once he found it, he took a shot and tied the game.

Just 32 seconds later, Brenden Dillon passed the puck through the air for Connor Brown in the neutral zone. He skated up to the net with Cody Glass close by. He passed it to Glass, who sent it back to Brown near the boards. He spun around and passed it back to Glass. He took a shot which flew past Thompson for the Devils’ first lead of the night.

Twelve minutes remained on the clock and Protas had another chance, but his shot went wide. He picked up his own rebound and passed it to Rasmus Sandin at the blue line. He began driving it towards the net but sent a pass to Ovechkin. His shot hit the crossbar and into the net to tie the game once more.

A minute remained in overtime and Nic Dowd passed the puck to Jakob Chychrun in the Devils’ zone. He skated into the Capitals’ zone with speed and took a shot right as he neared the net. Allen made the initial save, but Chychrun picked up his own rebound and batted into the net for the game-winning goal.

Next Up

The Capitals will head south and take on the Florida Panthers on Monday, Dec. 29. The Devils will head north and take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, Dec. 30.

The season series will continue in Washington D.C. on March 20.