On Saturday, Nov. 15, the New Jersey Devils are getting ready to take on the Washington Capitals in D.C. for their first matchup of the season. The Devils are coming off a wild 4-3 overtime win against the Chicago Blackhawks on Wednesday, Nov. 12, that kicked off the road trip. Now they’ll look to gain another win in the nation’s capital.
Related: Devils’ Star Jack Hughes Injured Hand at Team Dinner (Report)
However, the Capitals are now returning home after a four-game slate on the road. They lost their last one, falling 6-3 to the Florida Panthers. Now back on home ice, the Capitals will seek out their next win.
Devils Storylines
The biggest piece of news ahead of the game is that Jack Hughes is out due to a non-hockey-related injury. While the extent of his injury and when he will return are unclear, one can only hope that he will be back on the ice with the Devils soon.
On top of this, Connor Brown was placed on injured reserve (IR), and Shane Lachance was called up from the Utica Comets, the Devils’ American Hockey League (AHL) team. Per Amanda Stein, Brown was retroactively placed on IR, so he can be called back at any time. Hopefully, Brown will return to the team soon, but Lachance will earn his keep with the Devils in the meantime.
There is also still no update on Cody Glass, either, who was injured against the Blackhawks. At this moment, he is questionable against Washington. Hopefully, there is a positive update regarding him soon.
The player to watch in this game is Nico Hischier. With Jack Hughes out, Hischier moves to the first line. He is tied with Simon Nemec in points. With the captain now centering the top line, he will have the chance to step up for his team even more.
Team Stats
New Jersey Devils
Season Record: 12-4-1
Top Scorers:
- Jack Hughes – 10 goals (G), 10 assists (A), 20 points (P)
- Dawson Mercer – 9 G, 7 A, 16 P
- Jesper Bratt – 5 G, 11 A, 16 P
- Timo Meier – 5 G, 9 A, 14 P
- Simon Nemec – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
Goalie Stats:
- Jake Allen – 6-2-0, 2.29 goals-against average (GAA), .914 save percentage (SV%)
- Jacob Markstrom – 5-2-1, 3.67 GAA, .870 SV%
- Nico Daws – 1-0-0, 1.00 GAA, .968 SV%
Washington Capitals
Season Record: 8-8-1
Top Scorers:
- Tom Wilson – 9 G, 8 A, 17 P
- Dylan Strome – 5 G, 10 A, 15 P
- John Carlson – 4 G, 10 A, 14 P
- Alex Ovechkin – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
- Jakob Chychrun – 4 G, 8 A, 12 P
Goalie Stats:
- Logan Thompson – 7-5-0, 1.85 GAA, .923 SV%
- Charlie Lindgren – 1-3-1, 3.59 GAA, .878 SV%
Projected Lineups
(Subject to change before puck drop)
As per The Hockey Writers’ projected lineup article.
New Jersey Devils
Timo Meier — Nico Hischier — Jesper Bratt
Arseni Gritsyuk — Cody Glass — Dawson Mercer
Ondrej Palat — Juho Lammikko — Stefan Noesen
Paul Cotter — Luke Glendening — Nathan Legare
Brenden Dillon — Luke Hughes
Jonas Siegenthaler — Simon Nemec
Dennis Cholowski — Colton White
Jacob Markstrom
Jake Allen
Scratched: Shane Lachance
Injured: Jack Hughes, Dougie Hamilton, Connor Brown, Zack MacEwen, Marc McLaughlin, Brett Pesce, Evgenii Dadonov, Johnathan Kovacevic
Washington Capitals
Alexander Ovechkin — Dylan Strome — Anthony Beauvillier
Aliaksei Protas — Connor McMichael — Tom Wilson
Hendrix Lapierre — Justin Sourdif — Ryan Leonard
Brandon Duhaime — Nic Dowd — Ethen Frank
Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun — Matt Roy
Rasmus Sandin — Declan Chisholm
Logan Thompson
Charlie Lindgren
Scratched: Sonny Milano, Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dylan McIlrath
Injured: Pierre-Luc Dubois, Zac Funk
Next Up for the Devils
The Devils will continue their road trip and head south to take on the Tampa Bay Lightning. Before they head to Florida, though, they will have one practice at home before flying south.
