Nicklas Bergfors scored two power-play goals in
the third period, as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals,
3-2, at Prudential Center.
Brian Rolston also tallied, while Travis Zajac collected two assists for the
Devils, who have won three straight and six of their last seven games.
Martin Brodeur made 26 saves in the win.
Tyler Sloan and Tomas Fleischmann lit the lamp for the Capitals, who had
recorded a point in each of their previous nine outings (6-0-3).
Semyon Varlamov stopped 29 of the 32 shots he faced for Washington, which
played its first contest without Russian sniper Alex Ovechkin in the lineup.
The two-time reigning Hart Trophy winner and Rocket Richard Trophy recipient,
Ovechkin missed just the fifth game of his career -- third because of injury
-- with an upper-body strain that he suffered in Sunday's overtime loss at
home to Columbus. He is listed as week-to-week.
"Guys didn't come to play. Whether they're feeling sorry for themselves cause
Alex is not in, I don't know," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau.
"This isn't a one-man team, but those guys have got to understand that."
Bergfors took a feed from Zach Parise and ripped a shot over the glove of
Varlamov, breaking a 1-1 tie with 8:40 remaining in the third.
The Swede tallied again via the man advantage four minutes later, redirecting
a Zajac slap shot past the Washington netminder.
Fleischmann scored with 1:37 left in regulation, but the Capitals failed to
produce an equalizer.
"We came through with two power-play goals," said Rolston. "Special teams are
so important in this day and age in hockey. There are so many things called
these days. If you can capitalize on your power play, you're going to win a
lot of hockey games. That was the difference for us tonight."
Sloan's tally enabled the visitors to take a 1-0 lead into the first
intermission. The play began with Washington captain Chris Clark winning a
battle to keep the puck in the New Jersey zone. Mathieu Perreault, making his
NHL debut, picked up the loose disc and made a drop pass to Sloan, who fired a
wrister from the left circle that beat Brodeur on the stick side with 2:50
remaining.
Rolston tied the game when his centering feed from behind the Washington cage
deflected off of Capitals defenseman Mike Green and past an unsuspecting
Varlamov at 3:33 of the second period.
Game Notes
Washington is now 1-4-0 minus Ovechkin...Varlamov suffered his first
regulation loss during the regular season...It was the second career goal for
Sloan...Perreault, who recorded two assists, was the Capitals' sixth-round
pick (177th overall) in the 2006 draft...Washington has scored first in 12 of
15 games this year (6-3-3)...Washington visits the Panthers on Friday...New
Jersey hosts the Islanders on the same night.
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