Feb. 20 vs. New Jersey Devils at Capital One Arena
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
New Jersey Devils (28-22-4)
Washington Capitals (24-21-8)
On the heels of an uplifting 4-3 win over the Canadiens in Montreal on Saturday night, the Caps are back home just long enough to host the New Jersey Devils on Tuesday night at Capital One Arena. Tuesday’s tilt concludes the four-game season’s series between the two Metro Division rivals. Washington downed the Devils in New Jersey twice early in the season, but the Devils prevailed in the most recent meeting between the two teams, a Jan. 3 game in the District.
In Saturday’s victory over the Canadiens, Aliaksei Protas scored the game-winner for Washington in the back half of the third period, snapping a 3-3 tie. Playing his first game after missing more than two months of action with an upper body injury, Sonny Milano also scored in the third for Washington. Those two critical goals in the third followed first-period goals from Anthony Mantha and T.J. Oshie.
Oshie’s goal came on the power play and was his 10th of the season, and the 300th of his NHL career.
“That’s one of the other [milestones] I was hoping to get this year,” says Oshie. “Coming to the Caps, I wasn’t necessarily considered a goal scorer. So to get to 300, it obviously says a lot about the linemates I’ve had here. I’m happy to get there, but I don’t get there without obviously some world class hockey players at my sides.”
Oshie netted 110 goals in 443 games with St. Louis, and he has scored 190 times in 551 games with Washington.
The Caps scored on their only power play of the game, and they cobbled together a trio of goals at 5-on-5, doing so by extending their time in the offensive zone and by getting bodies and pucks to the net. And while both Mantha and Oshie have been producing offense consistently for weeks now, getting a pair of third-period goals from secondary sources was huge for them on Saturday.
“Very important,” says Oshie. “The way we’re built right now, we need everyone chipping in, offensively especially, but in every zone on the ice. We need everyone doing their job and bringing a little extra. Goals aren’t coming too easy for us right now, so getting a little secondary scoring is only going to help us. And not only that, but give some guys confidence that maybe haven’t scored in a little while. We want everyone buzzing and we need everyone buzzing if we’re going to make a push here.”
Following Saturday’s win over the Habs, the Caps noted the importance of getting two points in that game. The importance of Tuesday’s game is doubly magnified. Saturday’s victory is just the second for the Caps in the last 10 games (2-6-2), and Washington has fewer than 30 games remaining as it tries to claw its way back into the playoff picture.
Stacking up multiple victories is mandatory if the Caps are to ascend their way into the Eastern Conference playoff picture, and it’s something they’ve managed just once in just under two months; they won consecutive contests Jan. 16-18. Washington is 7-12-4 since its last three-game winning spree, from Dec. 17-21.
Among the 32 NHL clubs, the Caps have the fewest second-half games (seven) against divisional opponents; Tuesday’s date with the Devils is Washington’s first game against a Metro foe in over a month. After Tuesday, the Caps’ remaining Metro schedule consists of two games each against Carolina, Pittsburgh and Philadelphia.
“I did look at the schedule [Sunday], just to see what we have the rest of the year,” says Caps’ goalie Charlie Lindgren. “I think we play Carolina a couple more times, but in terms of the rest of the Metro, it looks like it’s pretty much done. I think we’ve got Philly once or twice more.
“But watching NHL Network in the gym today, they showed a picture of the standings. New Jersey is right above us, and it’s a no brainer. The time is essentially now, and we’ve got to make the most of our time as a team and together as a unit. There is no time for passengers anymore. Everyone need to hop on, and we need to make sure we get some wins here.”
The Caps will have to get those wins without top pair defenseman Martin Fehervary, at least for the time being. Fehervary left Saturday’s game after just two shifts and less than two minutes of ice time; a lower body injury will keep him out for a spell.
“It’s probably week to week,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery of Fehervary’s ailment. “Whether it’s one or two [weeks], that’s what we’re looking at.
“It hurts, because Marty does a lot for us. Playing with John [Carlson], he plays a lot of minutes, especially at 5-on-5 and being able to play against those top lines. But the good news is, it gives an opportunity for Al [Alexeyev] and [Ethan Bear]; we do have some depth there, of guys that are champing at the bit to get in the lineup. And we’ll rely on that for the foreseeable future.”
For the Devils, Tuesday’s game interrupts a string of five home games, the second of which was Sunday’s Stadium Series outdoor game against Philadelphia at MetLife Stadium, a 6-3 New Jersey triumph. Nico Hischier and Nathan Bastian each scored twice for New Jersey in Sunday’s victory over the Flyers.
Like the Capitals, New Jersey is on the outside looking in as far as playoff positioning is concerned. Also like the Capitals, the Devils haven’t been able to stack as many as three straight wins together since the turn of the calendar. New Jersey is 9-9-2 since winning three straight from Dec. 23-29.
