New Jersey Devils (25-34-9 59 pts) v.s. Washington Capitals ( 40-21-7 87 pts)
Game Recap:
The Washington Capitals are back home after a short 3 game road trip against Metro Division rivals. Tonight the Caps square off against another division rival in the New Jersey Devils. The Devils are coming into this game having a very depleted lineup with eight of their regulars out due to injuries or illnesses. The Caps scored early with a 5 on 5 goal from Andre Burakovsky. Each team had power play chances and neither team could convert on the man advantage. The second period was a very tight and defensive one. There were a few grade A chances on both sides with neither team being able to convert. In the 3rd period, the Caps were able to add another goal on the Power Play courtesy of Nicklas Backstrom. Lars Eller put the icing on the cake with a short handed empty net goal at the 19:02 mark. The Capitals are currently on a 6 game winning streak.
Lineups:
New Jersey Devils:
Kenny Agastino-Travis Zajac-Kyle Palmeiri
Stefan Noesen-Blake Coleman-Drew Stafford
Nick Lappin-Michael McLeod-Joey Anderson
John Quenville-Blake Pietila-Kurtis Gabriel
Andy Greene-Damon Severson
Will Butcher-Connor Carrick
Egor Yakovlev-Steven Santini
MacKenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratches:
Nico Hischier (upper body, day-to-day); Jesper Bratt (lower body, week-to-week); Nathan Bastian (upper body); Miles Wood (broken ankle, skating); Pavel Zacha (upper body, practicing, no contact); Kevin Rooney (illness) Mirco Mueller (shoulder); Sami Vatanen (illness/upper body)
Injuries: Taylor Hall (knee surgery)
Suspension: None
Washington Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana-Nicklas Backstrom-TJ Oshie
Carl Hagelin-Lars Eller-Brett Connoly
Andre Burakovsky-Nic Dowd-Travis Boyd
Michal Kempny-John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov-Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik-Nic Jensen
Braden Holtby
Phoenix Copley
Scratches: Dmitry Jaskin, Christian Djoos,Chandler Stephenson
Injuries: None
Suspensions: None
GameDay:
First Period:
Washington Goal- 2:40 Andre Burakovsky (11) assisted by Michal Kempny (16) & Travis Boyd (15)
Washington Penalty- 8:49 Michael Kempny, 2 minutes for tripping
New Jersey Penalty- 11:36 Kurtis Gabriel, 2 minutes for charging
New Jersey penalty- 11:48 Blake Coleman, 2 minutes for tripping
New Jersey Penalty- 13:58 Nick Lappin, 2 minutes for too many men on the ice
Washington Penalty- 19:18 Jakub Vrana, 2 minutes for interference
End of 1st –
End of 1st – NJ – 0 WSH – 1
Shots 10 11
Faceoffs 6/17 11/17
Hits 9 7
PP 0/2 0/3
2nd Period:
Washington Penalty- 5:06 Matt Niskanen, 2 minutes for Holding the stick
Washington Penalty- 10:44 Nic Dowd, 2 minutes for Interference
End of 2nd – NJ – 0 WSH – 1
Shots 20 24
Faceoffs 14/29 15/29
Hits 17 12
PP 0/5 0/2
3rd period:
Washington Penalty- 30 seconds Jakub Vrana, 2 minutes for Hooking
New Jersey Penalty- 13:44 Kyle Palmieri, 2 minutes for Slashing
New Jersey Penalty- 3:23 Kenny Agostino, 2 minutes for tripping
Washington Goal- 4:35 on the Power Play- Nicklas Backstrom (17) assisted by John Carlson (49) & Evgeny Kuznetsov (43)
Washington Penalty- 18:18 TJ Oshie, 2 minutes for tripping
Washington Goal-19:01 Short Handed & Empty Net- Lars Eller (unassisted)
End of 3rd – NJ – 0 WSH – 3
Shots 25 36
Faceoffs 24/48 24/48
Hits 23 16
PP 0/6 1/5
Next Up:
New Jersey Devils (25-34-9 59 pts) vs New York Rangers (27-28-12 66 pts)
Washington Capitals (40-21-7 87 pts) vs Winnipeg Jets (40-23-4 84 pts)
