September 25 vs. New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center
Time: 7 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Radio: Team 980, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (0-2-0)
New Jersey Devils (0-2-0)
A night after suffering a 4-2 setback to the Bruins in Boston, the Caps head back out on the road with a fresh set of players. They’ll head north to Newark for a Wednesday night tilt with the New Jersey Devils in a game that pits a pair of Metropolitan Division rivals seeking their first victories of the preseason.
Washington dressed extremely youthful lineups in each of its first two exhibition outings, but Wednesday’s game brings them to the midpoint of their six-pack of preseason tune-ups, and we can expect to see more and more of the expected varsity roster from now until the Oct. 5 preseason finale against Boston.
Wednesday’s game in Newark should offer Caps fans their first look at captain Alex Ovechkin as he prepares for his 20th NHL season. Ovechkin is expected to skate the left side of Washington’s top forward trio, with Dylan Strome in the middle and former Flame Andrew Mangiapane on the right wing.
Veteran blueliner John Carlson will also see his first action of the preseason on Wednesday in New Jersey, the state where he grew up. Another of the Caps’ new offseason additions – defenseman Jakob Chychrun – will be paired with Carlson. Chychrun will be seeing his first preseason duty as well.
Tuesday’s loss to the Bruins had the look of an early preseason game; it was an often sloppy and oddly low-event affair. Both teams went lengthy stretches without putting pucks on net; heading into the final minute of the contest, neither side had managed as many as 20 shots on goal. With a late flurry of four shots in the game’s final minute – one of which was Andrew Cristall’s second goal in as many exhibition outings – the Caps finished with 22. They limited the Bruins to just 19 shots on the night.
One of the few highlights of Tuesday’s loss in Beantown was the sturdy play of blueline tandem Martin Fehervary and Matt Roy, another of the Caps’ offseason additions. Roy was signed to a seven-year deal on July 1, and he and his new partner turned in strong performances both at even strength and on the penalty kill in Tuesday’s game against the Bruins, who also dressed a youthful group for the game.
Washington was 0-for-3 on the power play against Boston, and it killed three of four Bruins power plays successfully, getting nicked on a Fabian Lysell extra-man strike with just two seconds left on the penalty.
“I didn’t mind our penalty kill on a few of those kills,” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery. “I think the new forecheck did a good job of holding the line and disrupting some of those entries, so I liked that.
“I thought the power play was just okay tonight. I thought entries were an issue, and we didn’t get nearly enough to the net with the opportunities that we had. In games like that, where we're sort of trying to find some finish, sometimes the special teams can be the difference there, if it can step up and give you one or two. So there were some good things, but we’ll go back through it.”
Like Tuesday night’s opponent – the Boston Bruins – the Devils have a seven-game exhibition slate this fall while Washington plays half a dozen times before opening night on Oct. 12. New Jersey started off its preseason with a 4-2 setback to the New York Islanders this past Sunday afternoon in Newark.
New Jersey also had a preseason match on the road on Tuesday night; the Devils traveled north of the border to take on the Montreal Canadiens at Bell Centre. Jersey came up empty on that foray to the northland, losing a 3-0 whitewash to the Habs as Sam Montembeault and Connor Hughes combined to stop all 24 Devils shots on net.
