Clarkson, Devils Beat Capitals In Shootout
WASHINGTON (AP) — David Clarkson scored in the fourth round of the shootout, after Johan Hedberg made a pad save on Nicklas Backstrom, and the New Jersey Devils rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday night.
Clarkson skated in on Michael Neuvirth, faked to the right and then lifted a backhander over the sliding goalie to give the Devils a split in a weekend home-and-home series with the Capitals.
Zach Parise also scored for the Devils in the shootout, and Alex Ovechkin connected for Washington.
New Jersey got goals from Petr Sykora and Ryan Carter in the second period to erase a 2-0 deficit. The Devils have won three of four games.
Troy Brouwer and Jason Chimera scored for the Capitals in the first.
Washington coach Bruce Boudreau was denied in his first try at his 200th NHL victory.
Just 6:30 in, Brouwer took advantage of a bad pass to give the Capitals a 1-0 lead. Brouwer intercepted Adam Henrique's pass, skated in on Hedberg, got the goalie down, and beat him at the right post for his fourth goal.
Washington made it 2-0 at 16:10, just as a tripping penalty against New Jersey's Anton Volchenkov expired. Chimera tipped in John Carlson's blast from the right point.
However, the Capitals couldn't extend their surge. New Jersey limited Washington to two second-period shots, and goals by Sykora and Carter erased the Capitals' lead.
Sykora cut the deficit in half at 12:18, one-timing a short drop pass off a faceoff from the left circle past Neuvirth.
The Devils tied it at 18:54 when Carter, stationed between the circles, redirected a left-wing pass from Bryce Salvador for his first of the season.
NOTES: Boudreau is trying to reach 200 wins in the second fastest time, behind Don Cherry, who needed 341 games in the era before overtime. Since the shootout was introduced in 2005, only Anaheim coach Randy Carlyle has reached 200 wins, doing it in his 374th game. ... Washington D Roman Hamrlik left in the second period and didn't return. ... Capitals D Mike Green sat out one night after leaving in the first period following a knee-to-knee collision with Carter. Green had missed the previous six games because of a twisted right ankle. ... Devils LW Ilya Kovalchuk (lower body) missed his fourth straight game.
