Jakub Vrana’s late goal lets Capitals breathe easier, secure a 5-2 win over the Devils

By Samantha Pell,

NEWARK — Washington Capitals defenseman John Carlson threaded the needle with his chip pass up the ice, and it cleared the defensive zone, bounced past a New Jersey Devils player and headed toward the stick of winger Jakub Vrana.

Vrana, who got behind the defense, pushed the puck ahead of him before he beat goaltender Mackenzie Blackwood five-hole. Finally, for the first time since the opening period, the Capitals could exhale. Vrana’s goal was much-needed insurance as the Capitals secured a 5-2 win Saturday afternoon at Prudential Center.

After the Capitals looked dominant while scoring three goals in the first 14 minutes, they hit a wall and New Jersey inched back into the game. The Capitals didn’t have a shot on goal for 18 minutes spanning the second and third periods, but thanks to Vrana’s goal at 11:49 of the third, they held on.

“We still have a lot to learn, a lot to clean up and a lot we can improve on, I think, is the main thing,” said Carlson, who noted that he “kind of got lucky” on his pass that sprang Vrana. “I think we’re confident in our team, but we’ve got a long ways to go.”

Nic Dowd’s empty-netter with 53.2 seconds left ended any chance of a Devils comeback, but Capitals rookie Vitek Vanecek had to fend off a flurry of chances before that, and he finished with 22 saves.

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The Capitals (11-5-4) are alone atop the East Division with 26 points. They are 5-1-1 in their past seven games following a four-game skid and will visit the Devils again Sunday afternoon.

Washington jumped to a 3-0 lead with Garnet Hathaway, Daniel Sprong and Lars Eller lighting the lamp. But the Devils grabbed the momentum with a pair of goals, cutting the Capitals’ lead to one with a little less than 14 minutes left in the second period.

After Vrana had just one shift in the final 14 minutes of the second, he made the most of his opportunity with his third-period goal, his sixth of the season. He is tied with captain Alex Ovechkin for the third-most goals on the team, trailing only Nicklas Backstrom (nine) and Tom Wilson (seven).

“It’s hard to keep the momentum swinging in one direction for 60 minutes,” Eller said. “It just is. They’re going to get chances. I think we have a tremendously strong first period, and then we let them get a little bit too much. But we were still able to close out the game, and I think that was encouraging to see.”

Center Evgeny Kuznetsov was a surprise scratch from Saturday’s lineup because of an upper-body injury. He was a full participant during Friday’s practice, and he is officially considered day-to-day. Coach Peter Laviolette said it was a “last-minute change” and that he had “no idea” whether Kuznetsov would be available Sunday. With Kuznetsov out, Sprong slotted into the lineup for the first time since Feb. 7.

In more encouraging news, Ovechkin played 18:11 of Saturday’s game with two shots on goal after he did not participate in practice Friday, with the team calling that absence a “maintenance day.”

Hathaway opened the scoring at 3:36 after a great breakout and a heads-up feed by defenseman Justin Schultz. Sprong followed with his deflection of Brenden Dillon’s point shot at 5:06. Eller finished the spurt at 13:40 with a wrist shot from the right circle on a three-on-one with Conor Sheary and Ovechkin. Sheary fed Eller to his right instead of Ovechkin, who understandably had the attention of Blackwood, to his left.

The Devils got one back with Nico Hischier’s power-play goal at 18:16. It came just seven seconds after Sheary was penalized for tripping.

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The Capitals’ disorganized start to the second period led to Pavel Zacha’s goal at 6:09. Zacha extended his point streak to nine games (four goals, seven assists) by finding the soft spot in the slot and converting a spot-on feed from Hischier.

Vanecek settled in from there. He fended off 11 shots in the final 20 minutes.

“He’s gotten an opportunity, and certainly he’s made the most of it,” Laviolette said before the game.

It’s unclear who will get the starting nod in the Capitals’ net Sunday. Beyond Vanecek, the options are Craig Anderson, the ­39-year-old who made his first start for Washington last Sunday in a 4-3 win over the Devils, and Ilya Samsonov. The 24-year-old Russian made 25 saves Friday in a 6-3 win for the Hershey Bears, the Capitals’ American Hockey League affiliate. He returned to the Capitals’ taxi squad Saturday and has played four rehab games since coming off the NHL’s coronavirus protocol list Feb. 8. He has not played in the NHL since Jan. 17; he tested positive for the coronavirus Jan. 19.

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