WASHINGTON _ Goalie Keith Kinkaid was brilliant for the Devils.
Plus, his teammates did their best to clog lanes and keep the potent Capitals to the outside, though there were some leaks in the coverage. Still, it was the kind of defensive effort that has been mostly absent from the Devils' repertoire as of late, as they had allowed at least four goals in 14 of their previous 19 games.
And, finally, fittingly, it was enough.
The Devils, with most of the players' fathers looking on from a suite on the annual Dads' Trip, beat the Capitals, 2-1, in a shootout on Thursday night at Verizon Center to snap a seven-game losing streak in the overall series.
Kinkaid made 43 saves for the Devils (14-15-8), including four in overtime.
The Devils played without top-line left Taylor Hall, listed as day to day and missing his first game with a lower-body injury. Fourth-line center Vern Fiddler was also absent for the first time after suffering a lower-body injury in Tuesday's 5-2 loss to the visiting Penguins that will keep him out three to four weeks.
The Capitals (20-9-5) had been on a 7-1-1 streak against the Devils at Verizon Center, with the Devils' last win coming in a 1-0 victory on Nov. 14, 2014.
The teams conclude this home-and-home series on Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center.
And with two games in short order and the Devils starting a stretch of four games in six days, it was logical Kinkaid, who had not appeared in a game since Dec. 17 as Cory Schneider had started five straight, would get one of these two against the Capitals.
"He certainly has played well; he deserves a game," Devils coach John Hynes said. "A lot is left in the season, and he's a big part of our team, so he certainly deserves to play."
It was not Kinkaid's fault the Capitals tied the game at 1 on Daniel Winnik's short-handed goal at 3:50 of the third period as the Devils, particularly Adam Henrique and Yohann Auvitu, could not clear the crease. Kinkaid stopped Winnik's first two shots before the goal.
In the shootout, Kinkaid stopped T.J. Oshie after the right wing came toward the crease very, very slowly. Michael Cammalleri then connected for the Devils, and that gave Jacob Josefson a chance to win the game after Evgeny Kuznetsov shot it wide.
Josefson, returning to the lineup after a five-game absence because of a concussion, lifted a shot past Braden Holtby (26 saves).
P.A. Parenteau gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 1:05 of the second period with an unassisted goal after Kuznetsov's turnover on a mindless behind-the-back pass attempt. Parenteau now has goals in consecutive games, three goals in his last four and four goals in six games since a two-game stint as a healthy scratch.
Kinkaid made 14 saves in the scoreless first period, including two in the final 1:05 to keep it that way.
First, he made a pad save on Nicklas Backstrom's attempt just above the goal mouth at 18:55. Then, at 19:45, Kinkaid roamed high out of his crease and went into a split to knock away defenseman Matt Niskanen's blast from the high slot.
Kinkaid also gloved defenseman Dmitry Orlov's shot from the slot at 8:45 of the first period off a three-on-two rush for the Capitals.
In the second period, Kinkaid sprawled to stop Jay Beagle's short-handed breakaway at 13:36. And, at 15:21, he stood square to stop Alex Ovechkin's quick shot from low in the slot off a rush.
Then, Kinkaid stopped four more shots in the second period's final minute.
