Devils and Caps battle in potential first round matchup in their final regular season games
4-7 New Jersey (44-28-9) at Washington (48-26-7)
TV: 7pm NBC Sports Washington
Last game for New Jersey: 2-1 win vs. Toronto
- Pat Maroon-2 assists
- Miles Wood-goal
- Pavel Zacha-goal
- Keith Kinkaid-31 saves
Devils are 6-0 in their last 6 Saturday games. Devils are 5-0 in their last 5 road games vs. a team with a home winning % of greater than .600. The Devils have won just three of their past 16 overall meetings with the Capitals and just one of the past five visits to Washington.
Bratt-Hischier-Stafford
Gibbons-Coleman-Noesen
Wood-Zacha-Maroon
Grabner-Boyle-Hayes
Greene-Mueller
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy
Schneider
Last game for Washington: 4-3 loss vs. Nashville
- Evgeny Kuznetsov-2 goals, assist
- Alex Ovechkin-goal
- Phillip Grubauer-25 saves
Washington has converted on 22.7 percent of its power play chances this season, that’s good enough for seventh-best in the league. The Caps on the penalty kill are rated 17th overall, and it’s successfully killed off 80.2 percent of those short handed chances. Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov will both be focal points for the Capitals. Ovechkin (85 points) has put up 47 goals and 38 assists and has recorded two or more points in 23 different games this year. Kuznetsov has 27 goals and 55 assists this season and has recorded a point in 48 individual games this season. The Capitals will put Braden Holtby between the pipes. How Holtby fares today could be the deciding factor on his fate in the playoffs starting next week.
Ovechkin-Kuznetsov-Wilson
Burakovsky-Backstrom-Connolly
Vrana-Eller-DSP
Gersich-Stephenson-Chiasson
Kempny-Carlson
Orlov-Niskanen
Orpik-Jerabek
Holtby
