NEWARK, N.J. -- To say things have come easy for the Washington Capitals would be a bit of an overstatement, but with an NHL-best 37-9-4 record, they have not faced too much adversity in 2015-16.

After squandering a third-period lead against the New Jersey Devils, however, the Capitals faced an uphill climb and responded like the top team in the league.

Left winger Paul Carey's first NHL goal tied the game with less than six minutes to play and right winger Alex Ovechkin scored the deciding goal in a shootout as the Capitals emerged with a 3-2 victory against the Devils at Prudential Center.

The Capitals were 5:53 away from their first regulation loss when leading after two periods this season when Carey redirected a pass by defenseman Matt Niskanen and beat Devils goaltender Cory Schneider to even the score 2-2.

Ovechkin's goal in the third round of the shootout prevented the Capitals from losing three of four for the first time this season and improved their record to 28-0-1 when leading after two periods.

Could a test like this serve as a more satisfying win for a team that is cruising toward the top spot in the Eastern Conference?

"I mean, we'd prefer to be up and just win in regulation," said right winger T.J. Oshie, who also scored in the shootout. "They played a hard game today. I think both teams played really well. It was almost a playoff atmosphere."

Left winger Andre Burakowsky's 10th goal and sixth in five games was the only scoring through two periods. The Devils struggled to generate much offense through 40 minutes and did not register their first shot until the 12:02 mark of the first period.

But the Devils made the most of an offensive-zone tripping penalty against center Mike Richards early in the third period. Seventeen seconds after Richards entered the box, left winger Joseph Blandisi swept home a loose puck after a shot by center Travis Zajac squeezed through the pads of goaltender Braden Holtby to make it 1-1 at 1:51.

Less than six minutes later, center Adam Henrique followed a 2-on-1 rush led by Blandisi and fired a wrist shot past Holtby, who said afterward he had ice in his eyes as the puck was coming toward him, to give the Devils a 2-1 lead.

"For us, we did a lot of things we wanted to do," Devils coach John Hynes said. "We played a competitive game and gave ourselves an opportunity to win the game. Unfortunately, we didn't, so we're not happy about that."

The Devils (26-20-7) moved into third place in the Metropolitan by virtue of earning one point while the New York Islanders lost 5-1 to the Detroit Red Wings on Saturday afternoon. The sore spot for the Devils -- as it has been for several years -- is a poor shootout record, as they are 2-6 in the breakaway contest and 0-5 in their last five chances.

"Oshie is probably the best there is," goaltender Cory Schneider said. "A lot's been made of it already, the team in shootouts and me personally. I've just got to find a way, that's all."

"The shootout is what it is," Henrique said. "I thought we played a great game."

The Capitals will head home to play Sunday against the Philadelphia Flyers and continue their push toward the Presidents' Trophy. After playing such a tight-checking game against the Devils, some more open ice against the Flyers should be a welcome sight.

"They play very solid in the defensive zone," Ovechkin said. "We just have to learn from that. It was a tight game but it was fun to get two points and go home."

NOTES: Capitals D Brooks Orpik and LW Marcus Johansson practiced Friday but did not play. Johansson has missed three games while Orpik has not played since Nov. 10. ... The Capitals scratched D Connor Carrick and RW Stanislav Galiev. ... Legendary Devils G Martin Brodeur was on hand to drop the ceremonial puck before the game. He also spent part of the morning serving as an instructor for a junior hockey clinic at the team's practice rink. ... Devils LW Michael Cammalleri missed his third straight game with a hand injury. He will be re-evaluated Monday. ... Devils D Damon Severson, LW Tuomo Ruutu and LW Stefan Matteau were scratched.