The Washington Capitals conclude their season series against the New Jersey Devils on Saturday evening. They hope to split the four games after suffering a 3-2 decision to the Devils a week ago.
Both teams enter Friday’s game with 5-4 victories. The Capitals appear to have emerged from their clash with the New York Islanders unscathed, as head coach Spencer Carbery revealed his team will look a little different one night later.
“Yes, we will have a few (changes),” Carbery said before the game. “We’re working on a few things right now, so we’ll have a few different people warming up.”
Washington will definitely be without Alex Ovechkin for the sixth consecutive game. With the overtime win against the New York Islanders, the Capitals improved to 3-2 without their captain.
There were no clear signs of injury to any player in the team’s last game. The Capitals’ healthy scratches against New York were Jakub Vrana, Dylan McIlrath and Alex Alexeyev. Vrana hasn’t played since November 21st, Alexeyev hasn’t played since November 8th and McIlrath hasn’t played since November 3rd.
Arrived in Jersey#ALLCAPS | @Kia pic.twitter.com/cCGk2JuPQM
– Washington Capitals (@Capitals) November 30, 2024
New Jersey (16-8-2) enters Saturday night as the Metropolitan Division leader, one point ahead of Washington (16-6-1). The Capitals, who have three games in hand in New Jersey, are the hottest of the two teams, having won their last three games. The Devils ended their three-game winning streak with a 3-0 loss to the St. Louis Blues on Wednesday.
“I just think it will be a very difficult game with not much space,” Carbery said. “They know they are going to play a structured game. They ticked all the boxes when it comes to special teams strengths, five-on-five, physicality on the back end and top-six offense that ensures you can atone for mistakes, but also in One-on-one situations can fail.
“We will undoubtedly need our best tonight. When we played away, both teams were in the same situation and played back to back. It should be a good test for us against a team who are obviously at the top of the table with us.”
Jake Allen is the expected starter for New Jersey after Jacob Markstrom started in the win over the Detroit Red Wings. Allen made 24 saves in New Jersey’s win over Washington last week. Charlie Lindgren will be back in net for the Capitals after Logan Thompson earned his 10th win of the season against the Islanders.
