The New Jersey Devils (28-22-4) are coming off a big victory against the Philadelphia Flyers, who they are chasing down in the playoff race. The Devils have gone 4-2-1 since returning from the All-Star break and have been playing better as of late. They’ll look to keep the momentum going as they travel to Washington.
Awaits them is the Washington Capitals, who the Devils have faced three times already this season. The Capitals remain in the hunt and sit just four points behind the Devils. A crucial two points is on the line in what will be the final meeting between the two teams.
Match Overview
The Devils are hoping for another victory against the Capitals. This season, they’ve gone 1-2-0 against Washington and have been outscored 16-12. New Jersey has used three different goalies when facing the Capitals and have seen two games where they’ve made a goalie change during it. Nico Daws got the lone victory against them and will likely make the start tonight. Vitek Vanecek still remains out with a lower-body injury.
Each team has key pieces still out. The Devils have been without Dougie Hamilton and Jonas Siegenthaler, but Siegenthaler is likely to make a return tonight. They’ve gotten healthy bodies back, which has been crucial to their better play as of late.
The Capitals are without their top two centers. Nicklas Backstrom is on injured reserve and has been since November. Also, Evgeny Kuznetsov is currently in the players assistance program and is out indefinitely. Being without those two guys makes Washington thin down the middle but even then they’ve found ways to win games.
Projected Lineup
New Jersey Devils
Forwards
Palat-Hischier-Bratt
Hughes-Haula-Toffoli
Meier-Lazar-Mercer
Holtz-Nosek-Bastian
Defense
Bahl-Nemec
Hughes-Marino
Smith-Miller
Goalies
Daws
Schmid
Washington Capitals
Forwards
Ovechkin-Strome-Oshie
Protas-McMichael-Mantha
Pacioretty-Sgarbossa-Milano
Malenstyn-Dowd-Wilson
Defense
Fehervary-Carlson
Sandin-Jensen
Edmundson-van Riemsdyk
Goalies
Lindgren
Kuemper
What to Watch For
The Emerging Nico Daws
It was the dynamic duo of the Nicos at the Stadium Series. One scored two goals and the other was a machine in the crease. In fact, Daws set the record for the most saves made in an outdoor hockey game. Aside from that performance, Daws has been giving the Devils something they’ve been missing; stable goaltending and key saves.
After losing his last four starts in the month of January, he has been great so far in February. Daws has a 3-1 record, while rocking a .942 save percentage (SV%) and 4.94 goals saved above expected (GSAx). Overall, Daws has been the better of the three Devils goalies that have manned the crease, granted that bar is not set very high.
He has been the hot hand recently and has stepped up largely in Vanecek’s absence. With another crucial two points on the line, the emerging Daws will be counted on once again.
The Captain Leading the Way
Nico Hischier continues to lead by example for the Devils and has been one of the better players this month of February. As we are midway through the month and nearing the end, Hischier has five goals and ten points. He is one point shy of his totals last month with time to spare.
Hischier has two multi-goal games and his line, along with Jesper Bratt and Ondrej Palat, has been impactful when on the ice together. In the month of February, the trio has done a great job of possessing the puck and has a Corsi-for percentage (CF%) of 59.66. They are heavily outshooting the opposition and have done a tremendous job of generating offense.
Individually, Hischier has been great for the Devils but his linemates have helped give the Devils a line they can count on. They’ll need that down the stretch and look for them to be a factor against a lesser Washington team.
How to Watch
Tonight’s puck drop is at 7:00 pm ET and can be found on MSG.