Caps 2, Devils 0
The Caps have responded to a pair of losses with a very nice first period. They lead New Jersey 2-0 on goals by defenseman Mike Green – his first of the year – and forward Mike Knuble. Alex Ovechkin assisted on each. Washington scored twice on its first five shots against future Hall-of-Famer Martin Brodeur. The Caps are generating a good forecheck and have kept mistakes to a minimum. Give credit to Jose Theodore on Knuble’s goal at 14:16 of the period. He made a sweet kick save when the Devils had numbers on a broken play and that directly led to a counterattack up ice. Ovechkin was on the left wing and found Knuble streaking towards the goal on the right. He handled the cross-ice pass and his shot smashed into Brodeur’s stick and hopped over his shoulder for goal No. 2. Penalty watch: Knuble took the only Washington minor – a trip called 55 seconds into the game. No harm done as the Caps killed it with just one shot-on-goal allowed.
