Devils' 6-2 Loss to Capitals: Let Down

The New Jersey Devils failed to build off their Stadium Series win in a 6-2 rout at the hands of the Washington Capitals.

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Well, that was quite the letdown from the New Jersey Devils. After an impressive 6-3 win over the Philadelphia Flyers in the Stadium Series, the Devils were routed by the Washington Capitals in a game where they needed a better result. Here are three takeaways from the loss. 

Devils’ Defense Struggled in 3rd Period

The Devils got goalie'd in the first two periods of last night's game, but I don't think that's why they lost. After making improvements defensively over their last few contests, they took a pretty significant step back against the Capitals. 

It started on the opening shift of the game. With John Marino out due to illness, Luke Hughes was paired alongside Brendan Smith. But that combo went out the door after Hughes and Smith had a couple of errors on their first shift, leading to Connor McMichael scoring less than a minute into the game. 

Smith pulled himself well out of position to help Hughes, but that left Aleksi Protas wide open for a one-timer. Nico Daws made the save, but the rebound came out to the slot. Smith had a chance to clear the puck but whiffed on it, while Hughes did a poor job covering the net front where McMichael was. 

That was a less-than-ideal start to the game, but the Devils' defense held up from there. They were only trailing 2-1 after 40 minutes, but their defensive effort in the final frame was their undoing. 

On Dylan Strome's goal, which made it 3-1, Smith got stuck on the ice during a change with Hughes, and the results were the same as earlier. Daws made a good initial save, but Strome had all the time in the world to put in the rebound. There wasn't a Devils defender near him.