Match-up - New Jersey Devils (7-7-2) @ Washington Capitals (7-5-3) Road/Home records - 4-5-0 -------------- 4-2-3 TV - CSN-DC, MSG+ Puck drop - 7:00 p.m. ET Season series - 1-0 Capitals Last 10 - New Jersey: 4-5-1 ------- Washington: 4-5-1 Projected starting goalies - Cory Schneider vs Braden Holtby
Projected lines for the Capitals via DailyFaceoff.com:
Alex Ovechkin - Nicklas Backstrom - Jay Beagle Marcus Johansson - Andre Burakovsky - Troy Brouwer Jason Chimera - Eric Fehr - Joel Ward Liam O'Brien - Evgeny Kuznetsov - Michael Latta
Brooks Orpik - John Carlson Karl Alzner - Matt Niskanen Nate Schmidt - Mike Green
Injured: Brooks Laich, John Erskine, Dmitri Orlov, Aaron Volpatti.
Projected lines for the Devils:
Mike Cammalleri - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr Martin Havlat - Patrik Elias - Michael Ryder Dainius Zubrus - Jacob Josefson - Steve Bernier Tuomo Ruutu - Stephen Gionta - Jordin Tootoo
Andy Greene - Damon Severson Eric Gelinas - Marek Zidlicky Seth Helgeson - Adam Larsson
Injured: Adam Henrique, Ryane Clowe, Jon Merrill, Bryce Salvador.
Game notes:
- Cory Schneider will make his 17th consecutive start tonight, and is the only goalie in the NHL who hasn't sat a game yet. While he did go through a bit of a rough patch, he seems to be coming out of it as he stopped 23-24 and made several highlight-type saves in New Jersey's win over Minnesota.
- Alex Ovechkin is always a guy that needs special attention, but even more so tonight. He has nine points and 29 shots in his last five games and is surely feeling pretty good about himself right now. The Devils need to keep close to him, and make sure they stay disciplined tonight. He's good at even-strength and dominant on the power play, so the best way to defuse him is to limit his opportunities that way.
- Mike Cammalleri has three points in two games since returning from an upper-body injury, and has now recorded 10 points in 10 games on the year. With Adam Henrique and Ryane Clowe out of the lineup the Devils are still missing some offense, so they'll need their top guys to help make up for it.
- Adam Larsson has played really well this season, and currently ranks 1st in least shot attempts against/60 of 5 vs 5 among NHL defensemen with 8 games or more. If he wants to remain in the lineup when bodies get healthy he has to continue playing well.
- Patrik Elias has just two assists in his last eight games, and has zero shots in his last three. He's been playing with a bunch of different linemates due to Martin Havlat being out of the lineup, but the Devils need more from him. Now that Havlat is back maybe he'll be able to pick it up offensively.
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