The Devils looked like a hockey team that was playing the second game of a back-to-back, which they were.
The Capitals looked like a team that was playing its second game in six days — which was technically true.
Following a four-day layoff, the Capitals swept a Thursday-Friday doubleheader against the Devils, culminating with a 4-0 win at Capital One Arena. That marked the first time in 32 games this season that New Jersey had been shut out.
Washington (22-7-4) pulled into a first-place tie with the Islanders in the East Division. Each team has 48 points, and the Caps have a game in hand.
With 28 points, New Jersey (12-16-4) remains comfortably ahead of reeling last-place Buffalo and seems optimistic despite another loss to its nemesis. The Capitals are 6-0 in the season series.
"The disappointment of not being able to at least get a point out of [Thursday's] game certainly hurt, because we played hard, we battled back, we got the special teams going we wanted to get," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said before Friday's game.
"The one thing I know for sure is, our guys will dig in. We’ve been playing good hockey for the last couple of weeks, and we need to be able to keep playing at that level."
The Capitals got first-period goals from mainstays Alex Ovechkin (16th of the season) and Nicklas Backstrom (13th), and the Devils were unable to solve backup goalie Ilya Samsonov (24 saves), who notched his second career shutout.
Bratt on a hot streak
Despite their struggles against the Capitals, the Devils have been encouraged by the play of left winger Jesper Bratt over the past month.
The 22-year-old Swede ended a drought of his own with a power-play goal in Thursday’s series opener. It was his first tally with the man advantage in exactly 13 months and gave him 10 points in March — six of which came in the six games leading up to Friday’s faceoff in Washington.
“He’s had a great month,” Ruff said. “He’s such a dynamic and explosive skater that, when he has a little bit of free ice, he can back the other team off, [or] he can create opportunities on his own.”
Bratt entered Friday tied for third on the team in scoring with 16 points. He missed the first two weeks of the season due to quarantining after his return from Sweden, which followed his signing of a two-year, $5.5 million contract.
His presence is one of the key contributing factors to the brand of “Devils hockey” that Ruff mentioned at the beginning of the team’s stay in Washington – play fast, play smart.
“[Bratt’s] speed allows him to, a lot of times, put our other forwards in real good positions,” Ruff said. “So, for me, when he’s playing the game real quick — which he has been — and once he gets a step on anybody, he’s able to create a lot of situations … really, out of nothing.”
Where does NJ go from here?
Being unable to snap their 0-5-1 skid against the Capitals this winter, the Devils will go without a win in Washington this season. Their last victory at Capital One Arena came on Jan. 11, 2020.
New Jersey will finish up its six-game road trip in Boston. That is the home of yet another East Division contender, but one against whom the Devils' fortunes are the polar opposite — they will go in 3-0-1 versus the Bruins this season.
Odds and ends
— Ten different players had scored at least one power-play goal for the Devils this year, led by Miles Wood (three) and P.K. Subban (two). Bratt is tied with three others for most points on the power play with five.
— Ovechkin added a second goal in Friday's tilt to boost his career total to 723. He needs eight more to tie Marcel Dionne for fifth all-time.
