You answer your own comment, Maaco. There was one instant where NJ had territory, but it didn't last long. Regardless, my concern is NOT about NJ's tactics, but the Capitals'.
This game, in a certain way, may have been a disaster for the Caps. It was absolutely FOOLISH of them to have Ovie out on the ice for most of the last 7 minutes of this game, trying to get that 50th goal. I could see this coming from the very beginning -- when Ovie scored early, I turned to my wife and said "oh oh, now they're going to overwork him and try to feed him to get the hat trick." And that is exactly what happened.
The human body has thresholds, and after they are crossed you can have all the good intentions and effort in the world, but your body simply will not respond in the same way as it did before you crossed it. It's true both physically and mentally, and it is true in virtually all sports. In hockey specifically, there are thresholds at all stages of competition. If a shift is too long you can't respond well at the end of it. Too much exposure in a game and you can't respond in the same ways you did earlier. After too much cumulative wear and tear in a season, players wear out and their production suffers. And we all know the "lost a step" threshold that virtually all players cross in the latter stages of their careers.
You could ask the fans around me last night -- all during the game, I was shouting at the team and Ovie to get him off the ice. That breakaway he had in the 3rd period was his chance to get #50. After he didn't convert, I just watched in horror as NJ took penalties and he/the coaches refused to get him off the ice.
This to me may have been a defining franchise moment, and the player and the team failed. Do not be at all surprised if one of the defining commentaries during these playoffs is that Ovie is invisible, or just doesn't have it. A 32-year-old abusing himself/being abused in this way risks crossing the "seasonal threshold" of endurance. The pursuit of the personal goal in this case may have risked the golden goose scoring asset that this franchise has for the next couple of months.
I hope I'm wrong, and Ovie can help carry the team offensively during the playoffs. But that game last night unnecessarily put that at risk.