Photo: @Capitals

The Washington Capitals fell to the New Jersey Devils by a score of 5-4 at Capital One Arena on Wednesday night and dropped to 0-1-1 in the 2021-22 NHL preseason. Goaltenders Zach Fucale, who stopped 12 of 15 shots in the first two periods of Wednesday’s game, and Ilya Samsonov (six of eight) shared the net.

Capitals’ Lines vs. Devils 

Alex Ovechkin — Evgeny Kuznetsov — Anthony Mantha
Aliaksei Protas — Hendrix Lapierre — T.J. Oshie
Axel Jonsson-Fjallby — Connor McMichael — Michael Vecchione
Shane Gersich — Brian Pinho — Kody Clark

Alexander Alexeyev — John Carlson
Michal Kempny — Vincent Iorio
Matt Irwin — Nick Jensen

Fucale
Samsonov

First Period

After getting a feed from the neutral zone, Devils left wing Yegor Sharangovich burned Kempny and zipped past him before going high-glove on Fucale to give New Jersey the lead 5:49 in.

After picking off Devils center Nico Hischier at the Capitals’ blueline, Carlson streaked in shorthanded and ripped one over the crux of the arm of Devils goaltender Jonathan Bernier on a two-on-one rush to tie it at 9:01.

Carly said ‘I got this’ pic.twitter.com/6nuxxJiJvF

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 29, 2021

The Capitals led 7-5 in hits, had two giveaways while the Devils had three, and won 57% of the draws in the first.

The Devils led 4-1 in takeaways and went 0-for-three on the man advantage through 20.

Each team posted eight shots and four blocked shots in the period.

Second Period

After stripping Kempny of the puck in the corner, Devils center Jack Hughes deked and busted to the net to put one top shelf on Fucale 45 seconds into the second.

After a give-and-go with Kuznetsov, who was at the right circle, at the point, Carlson hammered home his second, which squeaked past Bernier to tie it 2:30 after Hughes struck.

Anotha one! *️⃣7️⃣4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/6EWJXORZWA

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 30, 2021

Center Alexander Holtz called his own number on a two-on-one from the right dot, which went over the glove of Fucale to give the Devils the lead again at 12:33.

27 seconds later, Oshie found himself in all alone, skated in, and went backhand to forehand and past the glove of Bernier to tie it once again.

𝘱𝘦𝘳𝘧𝘦𝘤𝘵𝘪𝘰𝘯 pic.twitter.com/wwQaoosQKe

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 30, 2021

Vecchione pounced on a loose puck lost in a scramble for the puck after McMichael got it tangled in between a Devils defender’s legs to give the Capitals their first lead of the night with 51 seconds left.

Caps on 🔝 pic.twitter.com/ZEPEyg7pEm

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) September 30, 2021

The Capitals led 17-15 in shots, including 9-7 in the second, 14-13 in hits, won 60% of the draws, and scored on two of their three power plays through 40 minutes.

The Devils led 9-4 in blocked shots, had four giveaways while the Capitals had six, and failed to score on two opportunities on the man advantage in the first two periods.

Both teams earned six takeaways through two.

Third Period

Center Dawson Mercer fought off Jensen along the half wall, powered to the net, and banked the puck off of Samsonov’s right arm and in to tie the game once again 5:35 into the third.

Hischier got the puck after defenseman Damon Severson threw it towards the net off of the face off, deked, and put it past Samsonov with 1:12 left.

The Capitals led 27-23 in shots, including 10-8 in the third, 8-7 in takeaways, won 66% of the draws, and scored on two of their four power plays.

The Devils led 13-8 in blocked shots, 18-17 in hits, had six giveaways while the Capitals had seven, and scored once on five opportunities on the man advantage.

Both teams earned 18 hits.

Practice Shootout

Practice Shootout

Oshie (WSH): miss

Hischier (NJ): miss

Kuznetsov: miss

Hughes: miss

Ovechkin: stopped

Sharangovich: miss

Carlson: stopped

Holtz: scored

Next game: at Philadelphia Flyers on Friday (7 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington)

By Harrison Brown