The New Jersey Devils return home for the second of a back to back set. Coming to town is the Washington Capitals, in what will be a pivotal divisional showdown. Both teams are coming off victories and are separated by one point in the standings.
Match Overview
It was not long ago these two teams matched up as they will play for the fourth and final time this season on Saturday. The Devils hold the edge in the season series (2-1) and won the last meeting 3-2.
The Devils have been on a nice run, winning ten of their last 14 games. They’ve beaten some strong competition. The only thing about their losses, is they have been shutout in every single one of them.
November has been a strong month for the Devils big dogs production wise. Jesper Bratt and Jack Hughes continue to help pave the way. The Devils have depth scoring, good goaltending, and strong special teams play.
They are coming off a victory over the Red Wings, in which the power play once again became a factor. As for the Capitals, they’ve got quite the win streak going as well.
No Ovechkin? No problem. After losing to the Devils a week ago, the Capitals swept through Florida, outscoring the Panthers and Lightning by a combined 9-5. Jakob Chychrun leads the way the last two games, notching four points. There are six other players with more than one point on that trip. They are coming off an overtime victory over the Islanders, so they are on a three game win streak since meeting with the Devils.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Check back closer to puck drop, as Tomas Tatar was injured last game against Detroit.
Defense
Dillon-Hamilton
Hughes-Pesce
Siegenthaler-Kovacevic
Goalies
Allen
Markstrom
Washington Capitals
Forwards
Protas-Strome-Raddysh
McMichael-Dubois-Wilson
Lapierre-Eller-Mangiapane
Duhaime-Dowd-Miroschnichenko
Defense
Fehervary-Carlson
Sandin-Roy
Chychrun-van Riemsdyk
Goalies
Lindgren
Thompson
What to Watch For
The Devils Power Play
If there is one element of the game that has been a force for the Devils, it is their power play unit. There is no shortage of firepower on it and they’ve come up clutch the last few games.
In the matchup a week ago against the Capitals, the Devils tallied two power play goals to help seal a victory. Against the Red Wings, the Devils scored two power play goals to help tie the game and a Jack Hughes goal helped extend the lead, which became the game winning goal. No team has scored more power play goals than the Devils in the month of November, so they are a unit to watch for as the month closes.
Jake Allen Time to Shine
The Devils enter the second of a back-to-back so it’s Jake Allen’s turn to take the crease. As much of the talk is about the guy up front, one player that should get the shine is Allen. Allen is 3-1 in the month of November, with his only loss being to the San Jose Sharks and a goal that was fluky.
His numbers have been strong. Allen owns a .955 save percentage and a 1.27 goals against average. Allen was particularly good against the Capitals last week, finishing with a .920 save percentage and allowing two goals.
The playing field will be even with both entering the second of a back to back, but one player that’s well rested is Allen.
Where to Watch
Saturday night’s puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.