WASHINGTON -- The explosive Washington Capitals found themselves playing some grind it out hockey Thursday night against the stubborn New Jersey Devils.

Jakub Vrana broke a scoreless tie at 7:21 of the third period and the Capitals defeated the Devils 1-0 for their franchise-record 14th straight home win.

With Washington on a power play, Vrana, a rookie who was recalled Tuesday from Hershey of the AHL, grabbed a deflected puck in the slot and fired past Cory Schneider for his second goal of the season.

"I played down low today," Vrana said. "I was in my spot and the puck kind of bounced right in front of me and I just saw the space so I tried to go around the goalie and shot under the blocker."

Minutes later, Braden Holtby stopped New Jersey's Miles Wood on a breakaway to preserve the lead.

Late in the game, Washington (43-13-7) killed off a four-minute New Jersey power play when Brett Connolly was whistled for slashing and picked up two more minutes for unsportsmanlike conduct on his way to the box.

"We're pretty confident in our penalty kill and at that time we're trying to eat away minutes, so we feel comfortable getting clears, making it tough for them to come up ice and putting the pressure on them to make mistakes," Holtby said.

He stopped 15 shots for his eighth shutout of the season, and is 18-0-2 in his last 20 decisions with five shutouts.

"It's like going back in time, playing the old Devils," Holtby said. "I don't think we created too many hockey fans tonight, but we got a win."

Schneider made 23 saves for New Jersey (25-26-12), which has lost five straight -- two in overtime -- by a total of six goals.

"I think if you look at it, tonight's another night that's indicative of a group of players that's playing with some pride, really believes in the way we want to play," Devils coach John Hynes said.

"We've given ourselves a chance to win games against some very good teams. That's what we're about. We want to remain competitive and continue to build our game."

During their winning streak, the Capitals have outscored opponents 65-20 and posted six shutouts.

Washington defenseman Kevin Shattenkirk, acquired in a trade with St. Louis earlier in the week, received a warm welcome from the Verizon Center crowd in his home debut.

The Capitals had a 14-9 lead in shots on goal after two lackluster periods.

"At one point, I looked up and I couldn't believe we were outshooting them. It was just a weird game. Very funky," Shattenkirk said.

Washington nearly took the lead early in the second period when Evgeny Kuznetsov hit the post during a power play.

Holtby maintained the 0-0 tie when he stopped Wood in front midway through the second period and then covered up a rebound attempt.

"We didn't make anything easy for them, they had to earn it," Schneider said. "It's always disappointing to lose, but hopefully we're trending in the right direction here."

NOTES: Devils LW Mike Cammalleri left with an injury in the third. Coach John Hynes did not have an update on Cammalleri after the game. ... The 15 shots on goal was a season-low for the Devils. ... The Capitals have picked up a point in 11 consecutive games against the Devils (10-0-1). ... Rookie C Kevin Rooney made his NHL debut for the Devils. ... Washington LW T.J. Oshie (upper-body injury) missed his fourth game, but D Brooks Orpik (lower body) returned after missing three games. ... D Taylor Chorney and D Nate Schmidt were scratched for Washington. ... New Jersey C Jacob Josefson (upper body) remains day to day and D Dalton Prout, acquired in a trade with Columbus on Wednesday, was scratched. ... The Devils' streak of four straight games with a power-play goal was snapped.