Shots on goal were 13-12 for the Devils after one period of play. New Jersey held an 8-1 advantage in shots at one point before Washington responded.
Pierre-Luc Dubois fired a shot past Hellebuyck from the right circle to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead 2:11 into the second period.
Midway through the second, the Devils tied the game. Brenden Dillon’s shot from the left point deflected in front of Haminaho and past Thompson to make it 2-2.
“Yeah, it wasn’t pretty, but I’ll take that any day of the week,” Haminaho said. “That was a good shot from Deeley and I think it hit my glove and went in.”
The goal came in Haminaho’s first NHL appearance of the season after being recalled from Utica the previous day.
“I think the start of the second half wasn’t our best, but we got that one goal and I felt like we just kept getting better after that,” he said.
After 40 minutes, the shots for the capitals were 20-19.
The Devils took the lead 10 seconds into the third period on the power play when a puck crossed the goal line after a wild scramble in the crease. After a review by the officials, however, it was determined that the shot had gone into the net with a clear striking motion.
Moments after the disallowed goal, Kolyachonok’s shot from the right point was a highlight, finding its way between Thompson’s legs to give the Devils a 3-2 lead at 6:27 of the third. Noesen was up front to provide the screen.
It was a memorable moment for Kolyachonok in his Devils debut, which also happened to be his third game in as many nights. He suited up for Utica both Tuesday and Wednesday before being recalled Thursday.
“I like to play, so I was actually pushed,” Kolyachonok said of the demanding three-day stretch.
The defenseman had only arrived in New Jersey earlier, but was able to make an immediate impact alongside Dillon.
“It’s professional hockey. You have to be ready every time,” Kolyachonok said.
Noesen himself contributed the fourth goal with a putback with 2:53 left in the game.
The veteran striker gave a humorous explanation for his end.
“I just closed my eyes and was out of breath at the end of that one,” Noesen said. “That was probably the fastest I’ve skated in a while. So yeah, sometimes you get lucky.”
Jack Hughes added an empty netter with 45 seconds left to tie the game.
Hellebuyck stopped 26 of 28 shots to improve to 6-0-0 since joining New Jersey, while the Devils finished 29-28 in shots.
For Noesen, the contributions from all three recalls showed the depth available to New Jersey.
“We’ve had some guys go down with injuries, illness, whatever happens, and you’ve got guys in there who come back and come in and contribute like we did,” Noesen said. “I thought Lenny and I thought Cooley played well as well. So yeah, it’s nice to see all the guys get a little bit of a reward.”
Rodriguez, who finished with a goal and an assist, noted the team’s patience after falling behind in the second period.
“We are down 2-1, and we don’t force anything, we don’t cheat, we don’t try to create something out of nothing,” Rodriguez said. “We just stick to our game and let our natural talent take over and that’s the way it should be.”
Keefe admitted it wasn’t New Jersey’s strongest performance, particularly after a tough stretch of games, but was pleased with the result.
“It’s not the prettiest game, but you’ve got to find ways to win these games,” Keefe said. “It’s not our best but two points are hard to come by so we’ll definitely take them.”