Devils exact revenge on Capitals

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When Alex Ovechkin snapped his streak of five games without a goal to tie yesterday's contest against New Jersey midway through the third period, the Washington Capitals thought an improbable two-game sweep of the Devils was possible.

Thirty-five seconds later Brian Pothier was whistled for a questionable tripping penalty, and 16 seconds after that, the Devils scored a power-play goal and held on for a 3-2 victory at Verizon Center.

New Jersey right wing Michael Rupp drove toward the net and was knocked down by a diving Pothier, but it appeared his stick connected with the puck and not Rupp's skates.

"It is obviously the ref's call, but I had a pretty good view on it," Pothier said. "I felt like I got the full puck, but obviously he didn't. ... It was a huge call, an enormous call. [Referee Francois St-Laurent] felt it was the right call. I didn't agree with it, but it is what it is."

A few seconds later Devils defenseman Brian Rafalski wound up from the center of the ice at the blue line and broke his stick on a slap shot that reached Caps goalie Brent Johnson. The rebound squirted into the slot, and Jamie Langenbrunner's wrist shot fluttered off Johnson's right shoulder and into the net with 9:56 left in the third.

Devils center Scott Gomez was also in the net, but Caps defenseman Shaone Morrisonn had cross-checked him into it.

"Everyone here is saying [Pothier] got all puck," Johnson said. "It's a tough one. Then they go out and get a crazy bounce where the guy fans on it and it goes over. I'm looking like it is going over the net, and it's right back in there.

"It was deflating."

The Caps, who ended a six-game losing streak to the Devils 24 hours earlier in East Rutherford, N.J., had only six shots in the third period and mustered few chances after Langenbrunner's goal.

Ovechkin scored his 35th of the season and second in 11 games with 10:47 left in the final period. He collected a short pass from defenseman Jeff Schultz and skated down the left side of the ice before unleashing a wrist shot that glanced off New Jersey goaltender Scott Clemmensen's mask -- putting a dent in the cage -- before landing in the net.