The Capitals are not invincible despite the way they’ve been playing lately. That’s what we learned on Tuesday, when the Ottawa Senators handed Washington a 3-0 loss, thus snapping the Caps’ three-game win streak.
That said, the Capitals remain a scary team to deal with. They’ve gone 11-3 over their last 14 games, outscoring opponents, averaging 4.6 goals during that span. That stretch started with a 6-2 road win over New Jersey on Dec. 31. There is a legitimate balance on both ends of the ice for the Capitals with their offense producing 3.2 goals per game while ranking first in defense, allowing just 2.1 scores per contest. With such a strong season so far for the Caps, it’s easy to treat their loss to Carolina as nothing but a minor stain on their ledger.
New Jersey doesn’t sport the type of defense that can be relied on to slow the high-octane Caps. The Devils surrendered three goals in two of their last three games and were outshot in four of their past seven.
Braden Holtby is scheduled to return in front of the net after letting Philipp Grubauer work between the pipes against Carolina. Holtby is undefeated so far this month, as he is 8-0 with a .935 SV% and 1.80 GAA in 10 games this January. Holtby stopped 26 of 27 shots in a 2-1 overtime home loss to New Jersey on Dec.29.
The Caps are 8-2 in their last 10 games against New Jersey dating back to 2014.
The Devils are coming off a 3-1 loss to the Los Angeles Kings but they are still in the hunt for a playoff spot. A win over Washington later tonight would boost New Jersey’s confidence and give them momentum moving forward.
New Jersey already has one win over Washington this season as mentioned earlier. Keith Kinkaid earned first star honors in that game, as he turned away 43 of 44 shots faced, a gigantic effort given the volume of pucks that went his way and the level of offensive talent of Washington. He wasn’t as fantastic in the next meeting with the Caps, though, surrendering six goals on 26 shots in the 6-2 loss late December.
Kinkaid, however, is in the zone this month, going 2-1 with a 1.39 GAA and .948 SV% in five games played so far this January.
New Jersey’s offense could take advantage of the Capitals’ slumbering penalty kill, which has allowed a power play goal in each of Washington’s last three games. The Devils went just 0-for-4 on the man advantage, though, versus the Kings.
The under is 4-0 in the last four home games of New Jersey, which is just 28th in the NHL in scoring with 2.2 goals per game.
