Capitals vs. Devils; Final of four meetings!
Today the Washington Capitals (37-17-6) head to the Prudential Center in Newark NJ to take on the New Jersey Devils (23-27-10). This will be the last game between these two teams in regular season.The Caps have won two of the three previous meetings. To say Washington has struggled as of late, is an understatement. They have lost three straight and five of their last six. Last game against Montreal Canadiens was lost 4-3 in overtime.
In the last 23 games Washington is 11-11-1 which puts them at .500%. New Jersey is 12-8-5 and gives them .580%. When the Caps score first they are 21-3-4, when leading after the first period, they are 16-0-2. When leading after the second period they are 24-2-3. I know a lot of people are worried about the Caps performance of late, but they are seven points ahead of where they were last year. Power play has been a struggle, ranking 14th in the NHL at 20.6%. One good thing is, when on the road Washington is at 23.0% . Caps are tied for a bottom spot in playoffs with the Islanders.
Ovechkin is one goal away from joining the prestigious club of seven others, having scored 700 goals. Another positive is John Carlson leading blue liners in points with 70 (15 goals). Coach Reirden has tweaked the lines some and they are as follows.
Washington Capitals
Ovechkin – Kuznetsov – Wilson
Vrana – Backstrom – Oshie
Hagelin – Eller – Panik
Leipsic – Dowd – Hathaway
Dillion – Carlson
Kempny – Orlov
Siegenthaler – Jensen
New Jersey Devils
Hughs – Hischier – Palmieri
Bratt – Zacha – Gusev
Wood – Zajac – Simmonds
Hayden – Rooney – Anderson
Mueller – Subban
Mermis – Severson
White – Carrick
Blackwood
Ilya Samsonov (16-4-1) 2.38 GAA .917 sv % will be between the pipes tonight for Washington. This will be his first game back since being pulled against the Islanders, February 10th. Puck drops at 1pm and Washington will be back home tomorrow for another matinee game against Pittsburg Penguins.
