Match Overview
Tonight, the New Jersey Devils will face off against the Washington Capitals at 7:00 PM ET in Capital One arena. This is the first of four games the Devils have with the Capitals between today and next Sunday. This will finish out the eight game season series between the two. In their first four matchups, the Devils lost three in regulation, and one in overtime. The overtime loss was the most recent. It saw the Devils rallying back from a 4-1 deficit only to fall in overtime by the hand of Jakub Vrana.
In that game, the shot totals were fairly even, but the Capitals third line of Richard Panik, T.J. Oshie, and Daniel Sprong were able to do damage, combining for three points. Jakub Vrana also got the best of Scott Wedgewood on March 9th, scoring two goals on three shots. That being said, Wedgewood has been solid for the Devils this season, with a .918 save percentage and a 2.59 goals against average while facing 31.6 shots per game.
Note, it is yet to be determined who will be in between the pipes for New Jersey tonight. Make sure to check back to our social media pages throughout the day for updates.
Projected Lineups
Devils’ Lines:
Forwards
Kuokkanen – Zajac – Sharangovich
Bratt – Hughes – Palmieri
Maltsev – Zacha – Merkley
Johnsson – McLeod – Wood
Defenseman
Murray – Vatanen
Kulikov – Subban
Smith – Severson
Goalies
Mackenzie Blackwood
Scott Wedgewood
Capitals’ Lines
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana – Nicklas Backstrom – Connor Sheary
Ruchard Panik – T.J. Oshie – Daniel Sprong
Carl Hagelin – Nic Dowd – Garnet Hathaway
Defenseman
Brendon Dillon – John Carlson
Dmitri Orlov – Justin Schultz
Zdneo Chara – Nick Jensen
Goalies
Vite Vanecek
Ilya Samsonov
Keys to the Game
To win this game, the Devils will have to exploit what seems to be a relatively average Capitals’ defense and goaltending group. The Devils’ offense doesn’t match up well with the size of the Capitals’ offense, and the speed of New Jersey’s defense may not be able to compete with that of Washington’s top scorers.
With all of that on the table, it’s hard to see the Devils winning this game. Still, it is very difficult to beat a team five times in a row in the NHL. With the Devils winning four of their last five games, maybe they could string together another tonight against a terrific Washington Capitals team.