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Washington’s fourth straight win came from the middle of the lineup and the middle of the game. The Capitals scored three times in the second period, turned an early deficit into a 4-2 lead and held off the New Jersey Devils behind Logan Thompson’s 29 saves. Ilya Protas broke a 1-1 tie just 1:16 into the second, then Dylan Strome and Boone Jenner extended the advantage.
| Final | Key period | Goaltending | Streak |
|---|---|---|---|
| Capitals 4, Devils 2 | Washington scored 3 in the second | Logan Thompson, 29 saves | Capitals won 4th straight |
How the game turned
New Jersey struck first through Arseny Gritsyuk, but Ryan Leonard answered before the opening period ended. That equalizer mattered because Washington did not carry a deficit into intermission. The Capitals emerged for the second period level, then changed the game in little more than a minute when Protas supplied the go-ahead goal.
Strome and Jenner followed in the same period. The three-goal burst was not just a scoring run; it forced New Jersey to abandon a patient road plan and chase against a goaltender who was seeing the puck well.
Logan Thompson protected the lead
Thompson made 29 saves and kept Washington’s advantage intact while the Devils pressed. His workload was meaningful: New Jersey generated enough volume to threaten a comeback, particularly on special teams, but Thompson prevented one goal from becoming two until the final seconds.
Timo Meier did score on the power play with 19 seconds remaining, trimming the final margin to two. By then, however, the Devils had too little time to mount another full possession. Thompson and the Capitals had already done the hard work.
Washington’s centers supplied the offense
The Capitals entered the night without two centers, but the remaining group produced. Leonard tied the game, Protas put Washington ahead, Strome added another goal and Jenner completed the second-period surge. That distribution is the strongest part of the result: the Capitals did not need one superstar line to carry every offensive shift.
Protas’ goal was especially important because it came quickly after intermission. New Jersey had no chance to establish its forecheck or recover the structure that helped it score first. Washington converted the first major second-period opportunity and kept attacking before the Devils could reset.
New Jersey’s power play waited too long
The Devils had three unsuccessful power plays before Meier’s late goal. That empty stretch represented their best chance to interrupt Washington’s momentum. A conversion earlier in the game could have narrowed the margin while there was still time to adjust matchups and goalie usage.
Instead, the power-play breakthrough came with 19 seconds left. It changed the box score, but not the game’s decision.
What the fourth straight win says
Four consecutive victories suggest Washington is finding more than one route to two points. Against New Jersey, the Capitals recovered from conceding first, received balanced scoring and relied on Thompson once the game became a defensive exercise. Those are repeatable components even when the exact scorers change.
The streak also gives Washington room to evaluate lineup absences without treating every missing player as a crisis. Depth does not eliminate the importance of injured centers, but it can protect the standings while the team adjusts.
Key takeaways
- Fast second-period start: Protas scored 1:16 after intermission and Washington never trailed again.
- Balanced production: Leonard, Protas, Strome and Jenner each scored.
- Goaltending edge: Thompson’s 29 saves prevented the Devils’ pressure from turning into a comeback.
- Special-teams timing: New Jersey’s only power-play goal came with 19 seconds left.
Bottom line
The Capitals’ 4-2 win was built around a decisive second period and a calm closing performance from Thompson. Washington scored four consecutive goals after falling behind, got production from multiple centers and absorbed New Jersey’s late pressure. That combination extended the winning streak to four and left the Devils with a clear correction point: generate more from early power-play opportunities. Continue with SportsyVibe’s NHL and hockey coverage.
Sources
- NHL official game recap
- Reuters scoring chronology and game details
- Washington Capitals official postgame coverage
Media note: Featured and in-body images are rights-cleared archival Washington Capitals media, not photographs from this game. The official NHL recap is linked above; no embedded video was essential to the article.
