New York. In the first half they led 3-0, in the second half they lost everything and ended up 3-4, and in the final period they came back and fought their way to a 6-4 win.
Well, it was pretty tough for Washington against the New Jersey Devils in Newark last night.
– Above all, we showed good character in the third half. “I hope we can build on this,” Nicklas Backstrom tells Sportbladet.
There have already been quite a few surprising games played in the opening weeks of the NHL regular season, but none were as surprising as the game between the New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals at The Rock.
In the first period, it seemed that the Cubs, after all the problems they faced during the opening, might pull off an easy win. They dominated a pale and bewildered home team and took a 3-0 lead without too much trouble.
But then, there was a complete change of scenery.
The Devils went into the second term with their fangs bared and in just over ten minutes they took a 4-3 lead, among other things after two new goals scored by Tyler Toffoli.
That was the end of the event, as most witnesses believed.
But no, on the third it flipped again. The Caps regained the initiative, equalizing just eighteen seconds later and regaining the lead just over two minutes later.
They then held on until Alex Ovetchkin was able to make it 6-4 into an empty net at the end.
– The first was good, and in the second we saw how dangerous demons are when they mess with goblins. But we get a really good character, and he comes back in the third part, greeting Niklas Backström in a text message.
He himself provided the assist for Conor McMichael’s 5-4 goal last term, and is of course relieved to have been involved in snapping a long, troubling losing streak.
“It was a very important victory and hopefully we can build on this now,” says the 35-year-old from Valpo.
However, perhaps the happiest of all in Washington’s camp was Hunter Shepard — a longtime AHL target who made his NHL debut at 27 and celebrated his first victory right away.
-It doesn’t seem like reality. It’s not settled yet, he says with a slightly shocked look afterward.
Jesper Bratt had an assist for the Devils.
