The New Jersey Devils are coming off one of their best performances of the season in a win at Brooklyn. They look to build a new winning streak when they host the Washington Capitals.
- New Jersey Devils (23-12-8)
- Washington Capitals (28-14-3)
- Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2018, 7 p.m. ET, MSG+
- Prudential Center, Newark, NJ
The New Jersey Devils answered the bell Tuesday night at the Barclays Center taking care of the New York Islanders by a score of 4-1. They snapped a six-game losing streak which came on the heels of a five-game winning streak.
On Thursday night, they’ll look to build a new winning streak against a team they’ve historically had a lot of trouble with.
This is the third meeting of the season between these two teams, and the Devils have not fared well at all. They’ve historically had trouble with the Washington Caps but they find themselves in a favorable spot tonight.
The Caps are coming off their bye week and their practice was canceled yesterday due to inclement weather in the northeast. Their first chance to skate post-bye week will be this afternoon at 11:30 a.m. ET.
The Capitals
The Capitals are coming off their bye week which has been a tough spot for most teams in the league. The Devils struggled mightily coming off of their bye week last week so they have to take advantage of a Caps team that hasn’t skated in a week. Like Tuesday, the Devils should have an advantage again tonight.
The Caps are led by their captain Alex Ovechkin who has posted 49 points in 45 games. On the blue line, they are led by potential free agent John Carlson who has five goals and 30 assists. The only former Devil that currently plays for the Caps is Devante Smith-Pelly who has six goals and seven assists. The change of scenery has been good for DSP.
Active/Inactive
Prior to the last game, Cory Schneider was a late scratch due to illness. Because of that Steven Santini was sent down to Binghamton to make room for the AHL goalie Ken Appleby. Schneider was deemed healthy enough to make a return so Appleby was sent back down and Santini was called back up.
One other piece of news is that Mirco Mueller was assigned to Binghamton for an AHL conditioning assignment.
As for tonight, the Devils will go with the same lineup they took to Brooklyn. Kieth Kinkaid, who was very good in the 4-1 win over the Islanders, will be in goal once again tonight.
#NJDevils: Coach Hynes confirms his lineup tonight vs Capitals.
Not changing a winning lineup:
Hall-Hischier-Bratt
Johansson-Zajac-Stafford
Wood-Zacha-Palmieri
Gibbons-Boyle-NoesenGreene-Vatanen
Moore-Severson
Butcher-Lovejoy?Kinkaid earns his 2nd straight start?
— Amanda Stein (@amandacstein) January 18, 2018
Braden Holtby will be between the pipes for the Caps tonight. We will have a better idea of the lines later in the day.
So #ALLCAPS Braden Holtby v #NJDevils Keith Kinkaid tonight from The Rock
— Mike Morreale (@mikemorrealeNHL) January 18, 2018
The Devils are 4-3-3 in their last ten games while the Caps are 6-2-2.
Other Devils news, stories
- Check out Andrew Gross’ article over at North Jersey in which he discusses the leadership of Taylor Hall and Brian Boyle.
