Behind the glass: Capitals 4, Devils 2 — Caps manhandle Jersey in The Fortress
Playing in the District is now a nightmare for visiting teams, and the Devils found that out in a 4-2 loss Saturday afternoon.
CapitalsWASHINGTON, D.C. -- A 1 p.m. puck drop on a gorgeous October Saturday, and The Fortress was rocking like it was a Game 7 in May. Read more: Behind the glass: Capitals 4, Devils 2 — Caps manhandle Jersey in The Fortress
Every game in The Fortress takes on a playoff-frenzied atmosphere. Losing at home is not an option for these Capitals, and you could feel it from the opening faceoff.
The Devils came to the District at 4-3-0 and looking for a statement.
They left with a 4-2 beating, sore shoulders and a long ride up the Turnpike.
Here is the identity of this team: physicality and sheer toughness. The Caps outhit New Jersey 19-16 and blocked 22 shots to the Devils’ 8. Skates and sticks everywhere like perpetual windmills.
Guys were throwing their bodies in front of pucks all afternoon. That is not a stat line. That is a mindset. Washington is now 5-3-0, back-to-back winners and 4-1 in The Fortress. The lone home blemish, Seattle, still stings. Nobody in this building wants to feel that again.
The great
Ryan Leonard. Holy cow. With the Caps trailing 1-0 late in the first and Brett Pesce in the box for interference, Leonard went end to end, carved through the entire Devils team like he was strapped to a rocket, and buried it on the power play.
The building came unglued. That is the kind of goal you tell your grandkids about. The kid is a star in the making, and he is making it in front of us.
The good
The second period was a clinic. Three goals, and the game was over. Ilya Protas opened it with his first of the season off a beautiful feed from the Great Eight. Yes, Ovi is still dealing. Dylan Strome finished off a gorgeous tic-tac-toe passing sequence with Jordan Kyrou and Alex Tuch for what stood up as the game-winner.
Related: Capitals 5, Canadiens 4
Then Boone Jenner scored his fourth goal in five games to make it 4-1 after 40. Vincent Desharnais chipped in two assists, and Logan Thompson was a wall: 29 saves on 31 shots.
The bad
The third period. New Jersey tilted the ice, outshot us and spent way too much time in our end. A three-goal lead should mean shutting the door, not hanging on. Coach Spencer Carbery needs to clean that up before a better team makes us pay.
And the faceoff circle was a problem all day. Nico Hischier owned the dot, and we lost the draw battle 32-28. This is not sustainable.
The ugly
Discipline and puck management. Alex Tuch took a needless cross-check three and a half minutes in, and the Devils got four power plays to our two. Arseny Gritsyuk opened the scoring at even strength with a shot that clipped off Thompson, and Timo Meier cashed a late power play. We also coughed it up 20 times. Against a top team, those giveaways end up in the back of our net. Take care of the puck or it finds the back of our net.
Who’s up, who’s down
Hot: Leonard, without question. Jenner and his four goals in five games. Thompson between the pipes. Ovechkin is still finding teammates, and the Desharnais-Fehervary crew on the back end is laying the lumber and eating pucks.
Not: Jonny Brodzinski went 2-for-10 on draws. Tom Wilson was a minus-1, the only Capital on the wrong side of the ledger. Not his best work, but you know he will answer. He doesn’t like Saturday afternoon games, I’m guessing.
Fans excited or depressed?
Excited. Really excited. This team plays hard, plays mean and plays for each other. When a building gets this loud and the players feed off it, that is how you build a home-ice monster. That’s why we coined it The Fortress. Visiting teams already know what is waiting for them on F Street. It is going to hurt. Book your time in the whirlpool.
Next up
The Los Angeles Kings visit The Fortress on Tuesday night, Oct. 20, at 7 p.m. Big, heavy team. Wants to muscle you. Good luck with that. Perfect test for a Caps club that wants to own every inch of home ice. Bring your voice.
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John Fredericks is the publisher of Disruptor Sports and the founder of the John Fredericks Media Network. He hosts The John Fredericks Show weekday mornings across the network's stations, and on Saturdays he is Godzilla, host of Godzilla Wins, the network's NFL and fantasy football show. Every one of his picks lives on the Godzilla Wins picks page, record and all. The desk's model has its own read on every game on The Card.
This column was written by John Fredericks. It was fact-checked and copy edited by the Disruptor Sports desk working with Claude, a generative AI model made by Anthropic. How our newsroom works.
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