Devils at Capitals
The New Jersey Devils can wrap up their season-opening road trip with a perfect record when they visit the Washington Capitals on Thursday. New Jersey is tied for the Metropolitan Division lead with the New York Islanders after winning its first three contests, while Washington is still searching for its first home victory after two shootout losses. The Devils have won eight of their last 10 meetings with the Capitals, but four of those victories required overtime or a shootout.
New Jersey’s offseason signing of Mike Cammalleri is paying immediate dividends, as Cammalleri has four goals in his first three games with the Devils. Alex Ovechkin leads Washington with four goals and is off to an excellent start with new coach Barry Trotz, who called him “very coachable” and “excellent as a captain and a person” after Tuesday’s game against San Jose. The Capitals are converting on over 30 percent of their power plays and New Jersey has also been effective at 25 percent, so both teams need to stay out of the penalty box if they want to avoid their first regulation loss.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG-Plus2 (New Jersey), CSN-DC (Washington)
ABOUT THE DEVILS (3-0-0): Cory Schneider has looked very sharp in his first three starts, posting a 2.00 goals-against average and a .937 save percentage. Veteran Patrik Elias appears to have found some chemistry with offseason addition Martin Havlat, as both players have three points to start the season. Defenseman Jon Merrill, 22, is third on the team in ice time to start his sophomore season, featuring on both the power play and the penalty kill and recording one assist.
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (1-0-2): Braden Holtby looked great in net until he was pulled on Tuesday after allowing three goals on seven shots. Rookie Andre Burakovsky has four points in his first three NHL games while playing on a line with Marcus Johansson and Troy Brouwer. Defenseman Brooks Orpik’s time with the Capitals is off to a rocky start after he was burned by Sharks enforcer John Scott for a goal on Tuesday.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin has 37 points in 32 career games against New Jersey.
2. The Devils can sympathize with Washington’s recent shootout misery after going 0-13 in the bonus format last season.
3. New Jersey has started a campaign 4-0-0 three times, including in 1993-94 when it won its first seven games.