Devils 2, Capitals 1: Ryan Carter scored his first goal in 17 games to snap a tie with 4:54 remaining in the third period as host New Jersey improved to 3-0-3 in its last six contests.

Tuomo Ruutu tallied for the second straight game and Cory Schneider turned aside 24 shots for the Devils, who moved within three points of Columbus for the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The Blue Jackets suffered a 4-3 loss to Chicago on Friday.

Captain Alex Ovechkin scored his league-leading 49th goal and Jaroslav Halak finished with 29 saves for the reeling Capitals, who have dropped five in a row (0-3-2) to reside four points behind Columbus.

With the contest tied at 1-1, Carter accepted a feed from defenseman Marek Zidlicky to gain entry into the offensive zone before beating Halak with a wrist shot from the slot. The goal was Carter's sixth of the season - and first since Feb. 3.

After being publicly criticized by coach Adam Oates for a lack of effort against Dallas, Ovechkin tried to atone by unleashing a blast from the slot past Schneider to open the scoring midway through the first period. Ruutu answered 12:21 into the second after deflecting defenseman Eric Gelinas' wrist shot from the point.

GAME NOTEBOOK: New Jersey LW Patrik Elias suffered an undisclosed injury midway through the first period after being driven into the stanchion at neutral ice by Washington rookie RW Tom Wilson. Fellow Devil C Adam Henrique exited the contest in the second period with an undisclosed injury. ... Ovechkin's goal was his first at even strength since Feb. 27 at Florida. ... Peter DeBoer collected his 100th victory as New Jersey's coach.