Game #23 Preview: New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals

Following a solid win against the Carolina Hurricanes, the Devils’ schedule doesn’t let off the gas with a matchup against the Ovechkin-less Washington Capitals. Let’s take a look at the matchup in this preview.

The Essentials

Matchup: New Jersey Devils at Washington Capitals

Date: November 23, 2024

Time: 7:00 PM ET

Broadcast: MSG, MNMT, ESPN+

Listen: Devils Hockey Network

Last Devils Game: The New Jersey Devils defeated the Carolina Hurricanes by a final score of 4-2 at The Rock. Check out Chris’ recap of that game.

Last Capitals Game: The Capitals lost 2-1 to the Colorado Avalanche. Check out NHL.com’s recap of that game.

Recent Momentum: The Capitals have won three of their last five and six of their previous ten games. The Caps hold a record of 13-5-1. The Devils have also won three of their previous five games and seven of their last ten games. The Devils have a record of 13-7-2 in the 2024-2025 season.

When They Played Last: The Red and Black last played Washington on the 19th of October and lost in overtime by a final score of 6-5. See Chris’ recap of the game. The Devils have played the Caps twice already this season and have a split record in those games. Let’s hope for a W on Saturday.

The Lineups

Washington Capitals

Based on their lineup against Colorado, the Capitals are projected to utilize the following lines and pairings on Saturday.

Forwards

Connor McMichael – Pierre Luc-Dubois – Tom Wilson

Andrew Mangiapane – Dylan Strome – Aliaksei Protas

Hendrix Lapierre – Lars Ellen – Jakob Vrana

Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Taylor Raddysh

Defense

Jakob Chychrun – John Carlson

Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy

Martin Fehervary – Trevor Van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders

Logan Thompson

Charlie Lindgren

Lindgren has not started a game since November 18th, so I expect he will start against the Devils on Saturday.

Injury Notes

Veteran Capitals Nicklas Backstrom (hip) and T.J. Oshie (back) are on the Long Term Injured Reserve.

New Jersey Devils

Per Sam Kasan, the Devils practiced with the following lines and pairings on Friday.

I’ll cover the bottom six forwards more in a minute. I expect Jake Allen to start in goal against the Capitals.

What to Watch For

The Office is Temporarily Closed

The Devils will not have to worry about delaying Alex Ovechkin’s quest to catch Gretzky on Saturday. On Thursday, the Caps announced that Ovechkin suffered a broken left fibula in the game against the Utah Hockey Club and will be out for four to six weeks.

Ovi has been off to a hot start with 15 goals this season and now sits 26 goals shy of breaking the NHL record for career goals. The Great 8 has 15 goals in his career at The Rock, which ties the league lead for a visiting player at the Prudential Center (per ESPN). The Devils will not take it too hard that Ovechkin is out for this game.

Who Has Stepped Up?

The Capitals have been a surprise this season, doing much better than expected. So, outside of Ovechkin, who has been driving this success? One player has been Logan Thompson. Thompson, the undrafted goaltender, was once a brief member of the Binghamton Devils (on a PTO). As of the writing of this preview on Friday evening, Thompson is ranked 12th in the NHL with 4.72 Goals Saved Above Average at 5-on-5 (per Natural Stat Trick). The 27-year-old Canadian has eight wins through ten games played this season and has posted a save percentage of .914. Thompson’s strong play thus far in the 2024-2025 campaign has put his name in contention to start in goal for Team Canada at 4 Nations, according to Sportsnet’s Luke Fox.

In front of Logan Thompson, it appears Jakob Chychrun has found a home in Washington. The journeyman, 26-year-old defenseman, has had previous stints in Arizona and Ottawa but has been producing for the Caps. Chychrun is second amongst Capitals’ defensemen with a +/- rating of +9 in 14 games this season (per NHL.com). The Capitals blue-liner has recorded five goals and three assists this season and appears to have found a groove with the club.

On offense, Ovechkin has made a statement for Washington, leading the team in goals. However, young forwards Connor McMichael and Aliaksei Protas have stepped up in a big way and will be looking to fill the void in Ovechkin’s absence. McMichael ranks second on the team with 12 goals in 19 games played this season, and Protas is third with seven goals. Protas brings some additional size to the Caps lineup at six-foot six-inches tall and has been sound defensively with a +/- rating of +12 (per NHL.com). McMichael has also been responsible in the defensive end this season, posting a +/- of +11. The production of these two 23-year-old forwards, in addition to the resurgence of Ovechkin, has allowed Washington to creep into third place, just behind the Devils, in the Metropolitan Division. The Devils will have to keep close tabs on these two young forwards to have success on Saturday.

Bottom Six

The Devils’ fourth line has garnered a lot of attention in the last few games, and head coach Sheldon Keefe adjusted that line against Carolina. Keefe brought up Shane Bowers to start alongside Justin Dowling and Tomas Tatar. Tatar played very well on Thursday, providing the assist on Dougie Hamilton’s massive goal in the third period and drawing penalties. I thought Dowling also picked up his game and came close to scoring on Thursday, making a nice move, but just hit the post.

On the other hand, Keefe did not seem happy with Paul Cotter, benching him following a slashing penalty. As you may have noted, Nolan Foote was practicing in Cotter’s usual place on Friday on the third line with Erik Haula and Dawson Mercer. Cotter practiced on an evolving fourth line with Dowling, Bowers, and Tatar. Will Nolan Foote slot into the third line on Saturday? Keefe seems to favor giving players a chance to gel and transition into their new roles for a few games after making line adjustments. To that end, I anticipate Tatar playing on that third line if Cotter does not regain his spot. It will be interesting to see how Keefe sets the bottom six of his roster on Saturday.

Your Thoughts

What will you be watching for? Does the third line need an adjustment? Has Tatar played well enough to move up? Would you leave things alone for now? Let us know what you think in the comments section below. Thank you for reading, and GO DEVILS!