WASHINGTON _ It's a long way to the end of a season that hasn't quite reached its midpoint.
But the Devils are going to have to figure out how to play a better game against the Capitals as the teams jockey for positioning in the Metropolitan Division.
The Capitals took over first place as the Devils opened a four-game road trip by closing out a promising 2017 with a 5-2 loss on Saturday night at Capital One Arena. It snapped a 6-0-2 run for the Devils as they lost for the first time in regulation since Dec. 9.
The Devils (22-10-6) have lost both their games to the Capitals (24-13-3) this season, including a 5-2 loss at Prudential Center on Oct. 13.
In both, the Capitals simply outplayed the Devils. They scored three times on the power play on Oct. 13 and, Saturday night, they picked apart the Devils with their precision passing, frequently getting dangerous chances at the net.
Cory Schneider stopped 30 shots as he started his season-high ninth straight game after making 25 saves in Friday night's 4-3 overtime loss to the Sabres that closed out a 5-0-1 homestand. Ex-Capital Marcus Johansson, playing his first regular-season game at Washington since being traded to the Devils on July 2, had two assists and Travis Zajac, playing in his 800th regular-season game, all with the Devils, had a goal and an assist.
Alex Ovechkin had three assists and Braden Holtby made 25 saves for the Capitals, who went 8-0-0 at home in December.
Devils coach John Hynes had identified this as an "important game" but not because first place was on the line.
"If you look at how our division is shaping up, these games are very important," Hynes said. "These games are probably going to come down to the difference at the end of the year. It's not necessarily the first-place part of it because there's over half the season left to play."
Defenseman Matt Niskanen, getting to the left post and finishing a tape-to-tape passing sequence from Ovechkin to ex-Devil Devante Smith-Pelly, made it 4-1 at 4:25 of the third period.
Zajac, at the right post, tipped Johansson's feed from the blue line to cut it to 4-2 at 9:00 but Nicklas Backstrom's empty-netter with 40.3 seconds left capped the scoring.
The Devils now trail the Capitals, who have played two more games, by one point and are three points ahead of the third-place Blue Jackets.
The Devils certainly didn't get the strong start they wanted as the Capitals led 2-0 and held a 10-3 shot advantage at 11:09 of the first period. The main issue for the Devils was their difficulty in maintaining offensive zone pressure.
Tom Wilson, working hard at the crease, slammed the puck past Schneider at 2:26 off Christian Djoos' feed.
Djoos then completed a tic-tac-toe passing sequence crisscrossing the Devils' zone from Ovechkin to Backstrom to Djoos at the left post.
But the Devils settled and came within 2-1 at 17:35 as defenseman John Moore, with his second goal in two nights, connected from the right circle off Zajac's cross-ice feed. It was Zajac's first assist in 21 games this season. Johansson, who received a standing ovation during a video tribute for his years with the Capitals at 12:11 of the first period, started the sequence behind the Capitals' crease.
Defenseman John Carlson's power-play blast over Schneider's shoulder from the right circle at 7:01 of the second period gave the Capitals a 3-1 lead. Pavel Zacha had taken a bad holding penalty, tugging down Djoos behind the Capitals' crease at 5:34.
