Capitals at Devils
THE STORY: The Washington Capitals and New Jersey
Devils open their home-and-home series with more questions than answers.
Hopefully that situation will settle itself prior to Friday's opener in
the Garden State. Washington stud defenseman Mike Green has been
sidelined for nearly three weeks with a sprained right ankle, but he
remains optimistic that he'll return against the Devils. "I'm getting
better each day. Finally, I think I'm getting close," Green said. Coach
Bruce Boudreau was also giddy, well, relatively speaking. "It's a real
positive," Boudreau said. "He did the battle drills, we tried to keep
him out of it initially and he said no, he wanted to do it. (He) went
right in and did it and said he is feeling stronger and stronger, so
that's a real positive sign." The news wasn't as positive on New
Jersey's Ilya Kovalchuk, who has missed his team's last two contests
with a muscle pull in his leg. "It's day to day," Devils coach Peter
DeBoer said. "Unlike a broken bone where there's a definite timeline on
it, it really is we show up, see how it feels and make a decision. He's
feeling good about it, but we're going to retain the right to daily make
a decision on him. So, that doesn't mean he won't play (Friday) and
doesn't mean he will." The Devils would like him in the lineup if they
are going to record their season-high fourth straight win.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NHLN, CSW
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (9-4-0): After a franchise-best
start, Washington has hit the skids. No, the Capitals won't be confused
with the woe-begotten Columbus Blue Jackets, but losing three in a row
and four of six is not sitting well with veteran Mike Knuble. "We look
great when we're all committing," Knuble said. "We all look like a bunch
of clowns when we don't. A very average team when we're not all
committed." After sitting out the team's 5-2 loss to the Dallas Stars,
Tomas Vokoun will look to bounce back from his poor outing against the
New York Islanders by starting Friday's game.
ABOUT THE DEVILS (7-5-1): Future Hall of Famer Martin
Brodeur didn't take long to clear the cobwebs. The four-time Vezina
Trophy winner has yielded just two goals in both contests since
returning from a right shoulder injury. Brodeur has been tabbed to start
Friday's contest, although it's uncertain if fellow veteran Johan
Hedberg will play in Saturday's return date in the nation's capital.
Adam Henrique has collected four goals - including two game-winners - in
his past three contests.
OVERTIME:
1. Washington's Nicklas Backstrom is already having a November to
remember. He has collected three goals and four assists in four
contests.
2. Now here's the kind of talk that New Jersey wants to hear from its
captain. "I think I can do more," Zach Parise said. "I know I can do
more. There's no question I'm an offensive guy and I want to put up some
points. I expect myself to. But I know that they’re going to come."