NEWARK, N.J. _ It was retro night at Prudential Center.
Unfortunately for the red-and-green clad Devils, that just meant that things happened against the Capitals on Thursday night pretty much the same way they did all the way back on Tuesday against the Kings.
They needed two goalies after falling behind in the first period. Then, they spent increasing time in the offensive zone as they chased the game.
But they lost, meaning they did not collect a point over a two-game homestand leading into this weekend's All-Star break.
The Eastern Conference-leading Capitals scored twice in the first period and won, 5-2, as the Devils go into the three-day break tied for the fewest points in the conference.
The Devils (20-21-9), who lost to the Kings, 3-1, have now dropped six straight at home and are in a 1-7-1 skid at The Rock.
On a positive note, Cory Schneider, pulled after one period on Tuesday, was strong in his relief appearance on Thursday, stopping all 18 shots he faced _ the Capitals closed the scoring on Evgeny Kuznetsov's empty-netter _ and that included a sprawling save on Chandler Stephenson on a two-on-one at 16:44 of the third period.
He had been pulled in two of his last seven starts.
"I always want to play so I was hoping, expecting to (start)," Schneider said before the game. "But Coach (John Hynes) decided to go with Keith, which is understandable because he's played great all year. The way I came out last game, it wasn't my best, so it's understandable."
Braden Holtby made 27 saves for the Capitals (33-10-6), who have won six in a row at The Rock and are on a 9-0-1 streak overall against the Devils. Their 3-0 loss at Ottawa on Tuesday had snapped a 12-0-2 streak that started with a 2-1 shootout loss to the Devils at Washington on Dec. 29.
Kinkaid made 43 saves in that game but stopped just 20 shots two days later at The Rock as the Capitals won, 6-2.
Kinkaid faced nearly as much action over the first 20 minutes of Thursday's game as he did over his 40 minutes of "action" on Tuesday, as he stopped all 13 shots the Kings "peppered" at him.
The result was another disappointing first period.
Schneider was chased after giving up three goals on 12 shots in Tuesday's first period and the Capitals took a 2-0 lead on nine first-period shots _ and two bad turnovers by Devils' defensemen.
First, Alex Ovechkin stripped Kyle Quincey of the puck just above the right circle and skated in and lifted a backhander past Kinkaid for a 1-0 lead at 6:14.
Andre Burakovsky, at the right post, muscled a power-play goal past Kinkaid at 18:28 after Jon Merrill, under pressure, pushed the puck toward the slot, where it banked off teammate Adam Henrique.
Hynes challenged that the play was offside but a video review confirmed the on-ice call of a goal.
Kinkaid's night ended at 10:19 of the second period after Kuznetsov blew past rookie defenseman Steven Santini on the power play and slid a puck through the goalie's pads to make it 4-1. It wasn't necessarily a shot, more like the puck just rolled off Kuznetsov's stick on a fortuitous path.
Defensive miscommunication allowed Lars Eller to plant himself unchecked at the crease to put in the rebound of Dmitry Orlov's point shot for a 3-1 lead at 8:29.
The newest Devil, Stefan Noesen, claimed off waivers from the Ducks on Wednesday, had cut the deficit to 2-1 at 3:19 of the second period as he got free in the slot and deposited Pavel Zacha's feed for his third career goal in his 15th NHL game.
Adam Henrique's tipped in Michael Cammalleri's shot from the top of the left circle for a power-play goal at 18:16 of the second period to bring the Devils within 4-2.
