Devils at Capitals
The Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils are separated by 26 points in the Metropolitan Division, but one never would have guessed that when the teams squared off over the weekend. The division-leading Capitals will be out to avenge a 6-1 beating by last-place New Jersey in a rematch against the visiting Devils on Thursday night.
The loss to New Jersey marked the first time Washington suffered back-to-back losses in regulation but it bounced back with a 2-0 victory over Carolina on Monday night behind the first career shutout for rookie goaltender Ilya Samsonov, who will be back in net Thursday. “I think we have the best two goalies in the league right now and I think we can see when they feel comfortable, when they feel good, we feel the same,” captain Alex Ovechkin said after scoring both goals. The Devils followed up the win at Washington by ending Tampa Bay's 10-game winning streak, but their momentum was halted in a 7-4 loss at Toronto on Tuesday in the opener of a four-game road trip. New Jersey had earned points in six of eight games (5-2-1) prior to Tuesday's loss and, despite Saturday's victory, has dropped 17 of the last 21 against the Capitals.
TIME: 7 p.m. ET. TV: MSG-Plus2, NBCS Washington
ABOUT THE DEVILS (17-22-7): Blake Coleman made a bit of history in the loss to Toronto, joining Hall of Famer Brian Leetch as the only Texas-born players to register a hat trick. It marked the first of Coleman's career and was his seventh goal in goal games, allowing him to take over the team lead with 18 and moving him within four of his career high from last season. “He’s in your face. He’s hard on pucks, and then I think because he’s scoring now, he knows when to go and when not to go,” linemate Travis Zajac said.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS: Ovechkin continued his climb in the record books with the two-goal game Monday, moving back Teemu Selanne for sole possession of 11th place on the all-time list with 686 tallies. Ovechkin also was feeling good about the fact that linemate Nicklas Backstrom signed a five-year, $46 million contract Tuesday. “It’s important that he will stay here for a long time and, how he said, he wanted to make sure he stay here in Washington, and it’s just great. Happy for him, and he deserve it,” Ovechkin said.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin, who is four goals shy of tying Mario Lemieux, has 26 tallies and 60 points in 55 games versus New Jersey.
2. Devils C Nico Hischier has been held off the scoresheet in the last two games after scoring twice versus Washington.
3. Samsonov has won eight consecutive starts to improve to 13-2-1.