Three Utica call-ups lift Devils past Capitals 5–2 in Newark

The New Jersey Devils beat the Washington Capitals 5–2 on November 12 at Prudential Center after three players recalled from the American Hockey League affiliate in Utica supplied the goals that changed the game. Lenni Hämeenaho tied it in the second period, Vladislav Kolyachonok put New Jersey ahead in the third and Stefan Noesen added the first insurance goal. Jack Hughes scored into an empty net. Connor Hellebuyck made 26 saves, and New Jersey moved to 14–6–0 with its seventh straight home victory. The Devils had been behind 2–1 before the players called up from Utica began to change the score.

The sequence matters more than the final margin suggests. Washington was within one goal until the last three minutes, and the Capitals had the chance to tie the game after Kolyachonok scored. Each New Jersey response came from a different location and a different kind of play. Hämeenaho changed the path of a teammate’s shot from close to goal. Kolyachonok shot from the blue line with Noesen between the puck and the goalie. Noesen then got behind the defence for a breakaway. The three plays offer a way to understand what the changes to New Jersey’s lineup delivered in one game.

Special teams set the terms early

The opening period produced a power-play goal at each end. Evan Rodrigues scored at 2:20 after Timo Meier carried the puck down the left and sent it across to the right faceoff circle. Crossing the zone forced Washington’s defenders and goaltender Logan Thompson to shift before Rodrigues could shoot. The space was useful because the puck reached the shooter with enough time for a quick release. New Jersey had an 8–1 advantage in shots at one point, according to the club’s report, but the first period ended with only a 13–12 edge. Washington had found enough time in the offensive zone to change the terms of the game.

The Capitals equalised at 14:10. Cole Hutson protected the puck near the blue line and found Ryan Leonard heading towards the slot. Leonard took the puck into close range and beat Hellebuyck with a backhand. It was Washington’s seventh shot of that power play, according to NHL.com. The goal came from a defender extending the possession and a forward moving into the space in front of goal. It brought Washington level after New Jersey’s early territorial advantage, and it showed why the Devils’ one-goal margin after Rodrigues scored was vulnerable as long as Washington could hold the puck in the zone.

Pierre-Luc Dubois put the Capitals ahead at 2:11 of the second period. His low shot from the right circle beat Hellebuyck inside the left post, and the goal extended his scoring run to three games, according to Field Level Media’s report published by Reuters. The official event summary records a power-play goal for each club, but Washington’s lead came at even strength. That detail changes the reading of the first half of the game. The Capitals had already shown they could exploit a numerical advantage. Dubois showed they could also get a clean release at full strength and turn it into the lead.

Two ways to make a point shot count

Hämeenaho made it 2–2 at 9:51 of the second. Brenden Dillon shot from the left side and Hämeenaho redirected the puck in front of Thompson. A deflection can take away the goalie’s opportunity to follow the original line of a shot, particularly when the final change of direction takes place close to the crease. It also rewards the forward for reaching a position where a modest touch matters more than another full swing. Hämeenaho had three shots on goal in 10:21 of ice time in his first NHL appearance of the season. The tying goal was the most valuable of those attempts because it removed the deficit before the last period began.

New Jersey thought it had taken the lead early in the third on a power-play scramble. Officials ruled after review that the puck had been directed into the net with a distinct kicking motion. The score stayed tied. The next goal came at 6:27 when Kolyachonok sent a wrist shot from the right point through traffic. Noesen provided the screen, according to the Devils. This time the important work in front of the crease was to obstruct the goalie’s sightline while allowing the puck to continue through. Hämeenaho’s goal had depended on a change in trajectory. Kolyachonok’s depended on a shot surviving the distance and reaching Thompson before he could react cleanly.

The official summary gave Kolyachonok 14:36 of ice time, all at even strength. His first game of the season therefore contained both regular defensive shifts and the chance to finish an offensive possession from the blue line. The event record credits Noesen with a goal and an assist in 9:31. The club’s description of the screen also captures a contribution that can be missed by looking only at who released the shot. The position of a forward in front of the net can be the difference between a distant attempt that a goalie sees early and one he picks up after it has passed the nearest defender.

Why the last two goals changed the margin

Washington remained close after Kolyachonok’s goal. Hellebuyck stopped Hutson from close range shortly afterwards, preserving the 3–2 lead. That save had a different importance from the ones he made after New Jersey had built a bigger cushion. A goal there would have reset the match with both teams still able to change their approach. The save gave the Devils time to play from ahead. The official totals were 29 shots on goal for New Jersey and 28 for Washington, so the broader volume of attempts was far closer than the three-goal gap at the finish. Thompson had 24 saves, and Hellebuyck’s 26 kept Washington at two goals.

Noesen beat the Washington defence to a loose puck and scored on a breakaway at 17:07. He finished with a backhand, changing the match from a one-goal contest to one in which Washington needed two goals with less than three minutes left. Hughes then scored into an empty net at 19:15. Field Level Media reported that the goal extended Hughes’s point streak to seven games. It completed the scoring, but the final margin needs to be read in sequence. The home side earned the first separation through a breakaway with Thompson still in goal. The last goal came with the Capitals taking the familiar late risk of replacing the goalie with an extra skater.

What the recalls meant for New Jersey

The Devils recalled Hämeenaho and Noesen on November 11, when they also announced that Anthony Mantha was being placed on long-term injured reserve. Hämeenaho had six goals and three assists in 11 games for Utica at the time. Noesen had already appeared in five NHL games this season and had six points in seven games with the Comets. New Jersey recalled Kolyachonok on November 12 after he recorded three assists in 12 AHL games. Two were making their first NHL appearances of the season on Thursday, while Noesen was returning to a team he had already played for. Their immediate responsibilities therefore came with different recent workloads and experience.

Rodrigues finished with a goal and an assist, while Arseny Gritsyuk added two assists. Those totals help explain how the lineup operated around the call-ups. New Jersey had an early scoring play from its power play and production later from players assigned different tasks at even strength. The official summary records four even-strength goals and one power-play goal for the Devils. It also credits the Capitals with winning 32 of 60 faceoffs. Possession at the draw was one part of Washington’s performance. The ability to turn particular possessions into good looks around the crease, and then finish them, did more to separate the teams.

The game sheet puts the two scorers making their season debuts in different deployment profiles. Kolyachonok took 20 shifts and recorded two shots. Hämeenaho played 15 shifts and recorded three. Their minutes were shorter than those of several established teammates, but the match offered them a way to influence the score without needing large workloads. Kolyachonok could stay at the point until the shooting lane appeared. Hämeenaho could get close enough to change the shot’s path. A coach can learn something from the distinction when fitting new players into a lineup. Both contributions arose within regular shifts, and each relied on another player already in the right position.

Noesen’s sequence made the role of support particularly clear. The screen came while someone else had the puck and the breakaway came when he had to finish the play himself. In between, New Jersey still needed to defend a one-goal lead. The score at each stage explains why the goals have different meanings. At 2–2 the next goal set the terms for the final minutes. At 3–2 a single Washington shot could wipe out the advantage. At 4–2 Washington had to find two before the clock expired. That is the match situation the three call-ups changed, step by step.

The teams are scheduled to meet again in Washington on November 14. Washington’s club preview set out a two-game sequence with the Devils, and the game in Newark established the first result in that sequence. The power-play goals gave both teams something they could reproduce from structured possession. The goals at even strength in the last two periods came from more varied situations, including traffic in front of the net and a race to a loose puck. Those were separate problems for Washington to address after a game in which the teams finished one shot apart.

New Jersey’s seventh consecutive home victory tied for the fifth-longest home streak in franchise history, according to the league report, and the club had won six of its past seven overall. Hellebuyck moved to 6–0–0 since arriving from Winnipeg in the October 23 trade. Washington fell to 10–7–0 after winning its previous two games. Those records set the competitive context for the result in Newark. Within the match, the strongest evidence of what the recalls added is the order of the scoring. The three Utica arrivals took the Devils from a deficit to a lead, then from a lead that one shot could erase to a margin Washington had to chase late.