Harry Lichtman
The Washington Capitals (34-27-8) enter the back half of their four-game homestand. They host the New Jersey Devils (35-31-2) at Capital One Arena on Friday night.
The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.
The Capitals began the homestand with a 3-2 shootout loss to Boston, but rebounded with a 4-1 win over Ottawa on Wednesday.
However, the main storyline from Wednesday’s victory was defenseman Cole Hutson making his NHL debut. It was a successful one as Hutson finished with a goal and three shots through 16:22 of ice time.
Alex Ovechkin also broke out of a little slump as he recorded career goal No. 922. The 40-year-old also made more history as he tied Gordie Howe for the most 25-goal seasons in NHL history.
On another note, both Ovechkin and Tom Wilson scored in the second period to reach 25 goals on the season. It turned out to be one of the better offensive performances from the Capitals as Hutson later scored an empty-netter.
Logan Thompson was also stellar in net as he stopped 34 of 35 shots. The goaltender almost recorded a shutout, but still ended up with his 23rd win this season.
Wednesday’s win kept the Capitals’ playoff hopes alive as they have 13 games remaining on the schedule. However, the team will likely need to win nine – and possibly 10 or 11 – of those games to get in.
Meanwhile, New Jersey also began the season with hopes of making the playoffs, with some early positive results. However, there came a point where the Devils won only 14 of their next 36 games (14-20-2).
Most recently, New Jersey seems to have found its groove again as they’re currently on a three-game winning streak. The Devils also lead the NHL with an average of 4.11 goals per game across three weeks.
Expected Capitals Lines
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
Connor McMichael – Justin Sourdif – Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank
Defensemen
Jakob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Cole Hutson – Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary – Rasmus Sandin
Goalies
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Expected Devils Lines
Forwards
Timo Meier – Nico Hischier – Dawson Mercer
Jesper Bratt – Jack Hughes – Connor Brown
Arseny Gritsyuk – Cody Glass – Lenni Hameenaho
Paul Cotter – Nick Bjugstad – Maxim Tsyplakov
Defensemen
Jonas Siegenthaler – Dougie Hamilton
Luke Hughes – Johnathan Kovacevic
Brenden Dillon – Simon Nemec
Goalies
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
How to Watch
TV: Monumental Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network
