PREVIEW

DEVILS (28-22-4) vs. CAPITALS (24-21-8)

Head-to-Head

This is the final of four meetings between the Devils and Capitals this season. Washington won the first two games, first Oct. 25 with a 6-4 final score, and second a 4-2 win on Nov. 10. On Jan. 3, New Jersey picked up its first win of the series, 6-3, on the road. Through the first three games, fourteen players have points against the Capitals. Captain Nico Hischier and Dawson Mercer lead the Devils with three goals each against Washington while Timo Meier and Tyler Toffoli have two. Jack Hughes leads all Devils skaters wtih assists against the Capitals with four.

Devils Team Scope:

Since the All-Star break, the Devils have had a strong showing, going 4-2-1, with improved defensive zone strategies as a top-highlight. New Jersey has also seen a strong performance out of goaltender Nico Daws in recent contests to help the Devils pick up some valuable points in a playoff push. In their most recent game the Devils took it outdoors, beating the Philadelphia Flyers 6-3 in the first Stadium Series at MetLife Stadium. Captain Nico Hischier’s goal just 32 seconds in gave New Jersey a lead they never lost, despite pushes from Philadelphia. Hischier ended the night with two goals and one assist, Nathan Bastian scored two goals, while Tyler Toffoli and Brendan Smith each added one. Nine Devils players picked up assists while Ondrej Palat, John Marino, and Curtis Lazar each had two helpers. Nico Daws had 45 saves on 48 shots and recorded the most saves in an outdoor game in NHL history.

Tyler Toffoli’s 24 goals lead the team as the forward is riding a two-game goal streak and has three total goals in his last four games. Jesper Bratt has the most assists (38) and points (58) on the Devils. His 20 goals are second-most as well. Jack Hughes has the second most assists (33) and points (50) and he has 17 goals which is fourth on New Jersey through only 38 games played.

With Vitek Vanecek’s lower body injury keeping him out of the lineup, Nico Daws and Akira Schmid make up the Devils goaltender duo. Daws has stepped up in February, playing New Jersey’s last four games, including both games of a back-to-back. Through those games he has allowed eight goals on 137 shots. This season Daws has a 6-6-0 record while averaging 2.93 goals against and he has a .912 save percentage. Akira Schmid has a 5-7-1 record, is averaging 3.26 goals against, and has a .893 save percentage.

The Devils are in a busy stretch of the season and just played seven games over 12 days and the game against the Capitals kicks off the first of five games in eight days. With the Metropolitan Division as tight as it is for a playoff spot, the next two games continues three-straight against divisional opponents, putting more pressure on the Devils to pick up points. Currently, New Jersey is two points out of a wild-card spot and five points back from the Flyers for third in the Metro, with two less games played. Following the Devils game against the Capitals, New Jersey returns home to host their Hudson River Rivals, the New York Rangers, on Thursday night.

Capitals Team Scope:

The Capitals are a team fighting to stay in chase of a playoff spot, as they’re six points back from the second wild card spot with one less game played. Since returning from the All-Star break, Washington has only won two of their six games; however, they’ve had some strong performances against top teams like a 3-0 win over the Boston Bruins and a 3-2 overtime loss to the top-ranked Vancouver Canucks. In their most recent game, the Capitals beat the Montreal Canadiens 4-3 on the road. Montreal tied the game three times but Washington was able to keep pushing back and regaining their lead. Aliaksei Protas had the game-winner and an assist in the win while ten total players were on the scoresheet.

Dylan Strome’s 20 goals are a team-high, as the forward has 36 total points which is second on the Capitals. John Carlson has 27 points to lead Washington while Alex Ovechkin’s 38 points pace the Capitals. Washington only has five players with 10 or more goals through their 53 games played and 13 players with 10 or more points. The Capitals have faced some challenges with finding scoring this season as they’re averaging the third-lowest goals per game average at 2.42. However, recently the Capitals have put an emphasis on maintaining their offensive zone by winning board battles and pressuring with their forecheck.

Darcy Kuemper and Charlie Lindgren make up the Capitals goaltender tandem and have split the games this season pretty evenly with Kuemper playing 28 games, starting 26 of them, and Lindgren starting 23 and playing in 24 total. Kuemper has a 12-12-3 record, is averaging 3.16 goals against, and has a .894 save percentage. Lindgren has a 10-8-4 record with a 2.65 goals against average, and a .913 save percentage. Kuemper played the Capitals most recent game against the Canadiens, stopping 28 of the 31 shots he faced.

Tuesday’s game is the first of five games in eight days for Washington, and is only one of two home games during that span. However, the Capitals are well rested after playing only one game over their last six days.

By the Numbers:

Both Nico Daws and Akria Schmid have recorded assists against the Capitals this season. Daws’ helper was on Nico Hischier’s first goal on Jan. 3 while Schmid’s was on Dawson Mercer’s third period tally in the Nov. 10 game.

As a top faceoff team (4th), it’s no suprise the Devils have multiple players in the top-15 for faceoff wins. Erik Haula has the 10th highest win rate at 56.5% while Nico Hischier’s 56.2% win rate is 13th.

T.J. Oshie recently hit a new milestone in his NHL career, scoring his 300th goal. Oshie has 686 points over 994 games in his NHL career. He’s currently playing in his 16th season.

Alex Ovechkin is riding an eight-game points streak which included a six-game goal streak. Ovechkin has 1,523 points over 1397 games played, and is 58 goals back from tying Wayne Gretzky’s record for most career goals in the NHL

Injuries:

Devils

Vitek Vanecek (lower-body)
Jonas Siegenthaler (broken foot, IR)
Dougie Hamilton (torn pectoral, LTIR)

Capitals

Martin Fehervary (lower-body)
Evgeny Kuznetsov (player assistance program, IR)
Nicklas Backstrom (hip, LTIR)