Match-up - Washington Capitals (22-20-8) New Jersey Devils (21-19-11) Road/Home records - 8-11-4 -------------- 11-6-6 TV - CSN-DC, MSG Plus Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET Season series - Devils lead 1-0 Last 10: Capitals 2-5-3 / Devils 4-3-3 Projected starting goalies - Michal Neuvirth vs Cory Schneider
Projected lines for the Capitals:
Marcus Johansson - Nicklas Backstrom - Troy Brouwer Martin Erat - Mikhail Grabovski - Eric Fehr Jason Chimera - Brooks Laich - Joel Ward Aaron Volpatti - Jay Beagle - Tom Wilson
John Carlson - Karl Alzner Dmitri Orlov - Mike Green Nate Schmidt - Connor Carrick
Projected lines for the Devils:
Joe Whitney - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr Dainius Zubrus - Patrik Elias - Damien Brunner Ryan Clowe - Adam Henrique - Michael Ryder Ryan Carter - Stephen Gionta - Steve Bernier
Andy Greene - Mark Fayne Bryce Salvador - Marek Zidlicky Anton Volchenkov - Eric Gelinas
Injuries: Pete Harrold.
Game notes:
- The Capitals have been on a bit of a free fall down the standings of late, and things don't appear to be looking up for them as their captain, Alex Ovechkin, will miss tonight's big inner-division clash. Without Ovechkin, the Capitals don't have much in the way of goal scoring as Joel Ward is 2nd on the team in goals with 13 in 50 games. Without Ovechkin they don't have the firepower to play a run-and-gun style game so expect Adam Oates the Capitals coaching staff to try and turn this into a tight-checking defensive game - one I still think the Devils have the edge in.
- New Jersey has played one game this season with a fully healthy forward core, and they won 7-1 against one of the top teams in hockey in St. Louis. I'm certainly not expecting that every night, but I think with the balance in their lines now they should have a respectable offense. We'll see if that's the case.
- Washington is a bit of a mess when it comes to 5 vs 5 hockey. They allow a lot more goals than they score and, with Ovechkin out, I don't expect that to change tonight. They rely heavily on their outstanding power play to win games, so if the Devils can stay disciplined, I think they'll have an excellent chance of winning this game.
- Joe Whitney will be making his NHL debut playing on the top line and opposite side Jaromir Jagr. The Devils have been looking for more production out of that spot, so if Whitney's able to produce close to as well as he has at the AHL level, he'll likely be here a while. This is a big stretch of games for him, because if he struggles he'll be sent down to Albany and Lou Lamoriello will probably look elsewhere for help. The test starts tonight.
- Cory Schneider will get the nod again tonight. He's coming off a victory and has played exceptional between the pipes of late. In his last five starts he's 3-0-2 with a .966 save percentage and sub-1 goals against average. The offense seems to be getting it together, so if Schneider gives the Devils a good performance in goal tonight, they should win.
- Adam Henrique enters the game having recorded 11 points in his last 12 games, while Ryane Clowe has 10 over his last eight games. Those two have looked excellent playing on a line with Michael Ryder.
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- I recently posted my midseason rankings for the top-30 first-year NHL draft eligible players from the OHL. You can view that here.
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