Caps Start Five-Game Trip in Jersey
Washington opens a five-game road trip with a pair of weekend matinee matches against the Devils
Two days after concluding a successful five-game homestand with a 3-1-1 mark, the Caps take to the road for a five-game journey. The first stop is Newark, where the Caps will face the Devils in a set of back-to-back weekend matinee matches on Saturday and Sunday.
As it takes to the road for the next five games and eight of the next nine, Washington is 4-1-1 in its last six games and 4-2-1 in a stretch of seven games since getting its optimal lineup back together. Over the season's first dozen games, the Caps' roster and lineup were in a nearly constant state of flux, with changes being made on a nightly basis in reaction to injuries and absences. But for seven straight games now, the Caps have been able to dress the same 18 skaters, and the cohesiveness is starting to take hold.
After allowing an unsightly average of 3.77 goals against per game in their first 13 games this season, the Caps have trimmed that figure to 2.17 over the last six games. Only twice in those first 13 games was Washington able to limit the opposition to two or fewer goals in a game; it has done so three times in the last six contests, most recently in Thursday night's 5-2 win over the Penguins in the homestand finale.
Plagued by some lethargic starts to recent games, the Caps put together a strong start and sustained it over most of the 60 minutes in Thursday' victory over the Penguins in the homestand finale.
"I thought that was definitely one of our best starts of the season," says Caps defenseman Nick Jensen. "It was something that we were kind of struggling with as of late, and it's something that we were really trying to focus on. We tried focusing on it last game, and we didn't get the result at the beginning that we wanted to. In this game, we definitely came out and we built off that throughout the game and it was a pretty sold overall 60 minutes, besides the little hiccup in the third [period] there. That shows how important those starts are to get us going."
The Caps and Devils met last Sunday in Washington for the first time this season, and New Jersey had the early edge in that matinee contest. The Devils were all over the Caps early, forcing Washington goaltender Craig Anderson - who was making his first start in nearly a year - to make some big stops early when New Jersey's speed enabled it to generate some odd-man opportunities.
The Devils grabbed an early 1-0 lead on a power play before Washington registered its first shot on net. The Caps righted the ship midway through the first, but the Devils expanded their lead to 2-0 on another odd man rush early in the second.
"The first 10 minutes I think the shots were 7-0 for them," says Caps center Lars Eller. "They're a very good team but we were able to dig deep and respond, and at the same time not take too many chances or alter our game in such a way that we were giving up a ton of chances, either. We were able to keep them within two, and then we got that one goal before the [second] period ended and then we just kept riding that wave and raised our game a little bit in the third."
Last Sunday's win over New Jersey was the first in a matinee game for the Caps this season, and they are 1-3-2 in afternoon action in 2020-21.
"I think we've got to get off to a good start," says Caps defenseman Justin Schultz of the weekend matinee set against the Devils. "It's going to be an early game and we've got to make sure we're ready to go. But they're a fast team and they like to play fast. We've got to do the same thing with our puck movement, getting to spots quick and outworking them."
Facing the Sabres in Buffalo on Thursday night, the Devils halted a three-game slide with a 4-3 overtime victory. Pavel Zacha scored at 1:17 of the extra session to deliver the victory to New Jersey, which opens a five-game homestand on Saturday against Washington.
Zacha's game-winner continues the forward's hot start for the Devils this season. With a dozen points (five goals, seven assists) in 15 games, he is New Jersey's leading scorer. The sixth overall pick in the 2015 draft, Zacha's career high is 32 points (eight goals, 24 assists), achieved last season. He carries an eight-game point streak (three goals, seven assists) into Saturday's game with Washington and appears poised for a breakout season.
Since a COVID outbreak led to five of their games being postponed and a 15-day layoff at the start of this month, the Devils have split six games. They won three of four road games during that stretch, losing only in Washington last Sunday. Both losses came at home, and both came against Buffalo. The Devils are 2-4-1 on home ice thus far this season.
