Vladislav Kolyachonok delivered the turning point Thursday night, and the New Jersey Devils rode that third-period push to a 5-2 win over the Washington Capitals at Prudential Center.
New Jersey never let the game settle for long. Evan Rodrigues got the Devils on the board first, cashing in on the power play at 2:20 of the opening period with help from Timo Meier and Arseny Gritsyuk. Washington answered late in the period when Ryan Leonard tied it 1-1 on the power play at 14:10.
The back-and-forth continued in the second. Pierre-Luc Dubois gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 2:11, but Lenni Hameenaho pulled New Jersey even again at 9:51.
Then Kolyachonok took over. He scored the go-ahead goal at 6:27 of the third period, with Rodrigues picking up the assist, and the Devils never looked back. Stefan Noesen added insurance at 17:07, and Jack Hughes sealed it with an empty-net goal at 19:15.
Rodrigues finished with a goal and an assist, while Gritsyuk set up two goals. Hameenaho, Kolyachonok and Noesen also scored for New Jersey, and Connor Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 28 shots.
Logan Thompson made 24 saves on 28 shots for Washington. Leonard and Dubois scored for the Capitals.
The Devils were 1 for 3 on the power play, while Washington went 1 for 2. New Jersey outshot the Capitals 29-28.
With the win, the Devils improved to 14-6-0 and remained second in the Eastern Conference. The Capitals dropped to 10-7-0 and sit ninth in the conference.
The season series is tied 1-1 after Washington won the first meeting 4-2 on Oct. 17.
The teams meet again on Saturday, Nov. 14, at 7:00 p.m. ET, when the Devils visit the Capitals.
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