Mercer was called for a double-minor because Strome bled from the hit. Going to the box put the Devils, who held the lead, in a man-disadvantage for four minutes. The Devils typically elite penalty kill gave up three power-play goals in the second period to give the Capitals a lead they protected from a third-period rally.

New Jersey will face the Washington Capitals for the fourth and final time this season. The Devils are 2-0-1 in the first three showdowns. The two teams are atop the Metro Division. You can watch on M

The New Jersey Devils and Washington Capitals clashed on Saturday night for Hockey Fights Cancer Night at the Prudential Center. The Devils welcomed 12-year-old Theo Koshenkov, a diehard Devils fan who was recently diagnosed with Lymphoma.

A quirk of the New Jersey Devils’ season has been that, until tonight, they had not lost a game in which they scored a goal since October 25th, a 4-3 overtime loss to the New York Islanders. The four losses they suffered in that span were all shutout defeats.