Tatar Has Goal And Assist As Devils Beat Capitals 3

Newark, N.J. – Tomas Tatar had a goal and an assist, and Akira Schmid made 23 saves as the New Jersey Devils defeated the Washington Capitals 3-1 on Saturday night.

Tatar gave the Devils a 1-0 lead at 7:22 of the first period when he took a pass from Jesper Bratt and beat Capitals goalie Darcy Kuemper with a wrist shot from the left circle.

The Capitals tied it at 1-1 at 12:28 of the second period on a power play when Evgeny Kuznetsov scored his 10th goal of the season.

The Devils regained the lead at 16:03 of the second period when Tatar set up Ondrej Palat for a goal.

Michael McLeod added an empty-net goal with 1:02 remaining in the third period to seal the victory.

“It was a big win for us,” Tatar said. “We needed to get back on track after losing our last two games. We played a solid game and got the win.”

“Schmid was great tonight,” Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. “He made some big saves for us and gave us a chance to win.”

The Devils have won three of their last four games and are now 16-13-3 on the season. The Capitals have lost two of their last three games and are now 15-12-3.

“We have been really hot and cold this season,” Ovechkin said. “We need to find a way to be more consistent.”

The two teams will meet again on Monday night in Washington.