Match-up - New Jersey Devils (14-15-7) @ Washington Capitals (19-13-3)
Road/Home records - 7-10-3 -------------- 12-7-0
TV - MSG Plus, CSN-DC
Puck drop - 7:00 PM ET
Season series - 0-0
Last 10: Devils 4-4-2 / Capitals 7-2-1
Projected starting goalies - Martin Brodeur vs Braden Holtby



Projected lines for the Capitals:

Marcus Johansson - Nicklas Backstrom - Alex Ovechkin
Eric Fehr - Mikhail Grabovski - Troy Brouwer
Jason Chimera - Martin Erat - Joel Ward
Aaron Volpatti - Jay Beagle - Tom Wilson

Karl Alzner - John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov - Mike Green
John Erskine - Steve Oleksy

Injuries: Jack Hillen, Brooks Laich.

Projected lines for the Devils:

*Not confirmed where they'll play

Dainius Zubrus - Travis Zajac - Jaromir Jagr
Adam Henrique - Patrik Elias - Mattias Tedenby*
Reid Boucher - Jacob Josefson* - Michael Ryder
Steve Bernier - Stephen Gionta - Tim Sestito*

Andy Greene - Mark Fayne
Eric Gelinas - Marek Zidlicky
Anton Volchenkov - Jon Merrill

Injuries: Ryane Clowe, Bryce Salvador, Adam Larsson, Ryan Carter.

Game notes:

- The Capitals are an…interesting team, let's say. They're loaded with talent, but have been a bit of a mess during 5 vs 5 play this season. They've struggled in terms of possession and allow a lot of full strength goals because of it. That said, their ridiculously good power play and what seems like a goal every game from Ovechkin have been enough for them to comfortably sit in a playoff position.

- Given the Capitals' success up a man this season, it'll be key for the Devils to stay disciplined and limit their penalties. If the Devils start parading to the box they won't have much of a chance in this one.

- The Devils finished up a three-game home stand with a respectable 2-0-1 record, but to call this a successful week they need a win tonight over their new division rivals. For whatever reason, the Devils have had a lot of success in the 2nd half of back-to-backs this season as they own a 5-1-3 record in that situation. Washington also played last night so it'll be interesting to see if that trend continues.

- Washington is a skating team. They have a very skilled lineup and get up and down the ice in a hurry. One key for the Devils tonight is to keep their feet moving and don't get caught flatfooted. If they do, they'll allow a boatload of scoring chances which will probably lead to a regulation loss.

- I've more or less carried Travis Zajac's water this season, but for good reason. He's playing some fantastic hockey for the Devils and isn't getting near the credit he deserves. To me, he's been the team's MVP thus far. Despite playing against opposing team's top players in a shutdown role every night, the Devils have scored more than their opponents during 5 vs 5 play when he's on the ice. To date the Devils have 22 goals for and 16 against when Zajac is on the ice in full strength situations. He hasn't produced a ton of offense, but he's chipped in here and there and has done a masterful job defensively. He'll have another tough task shadowing Nicklas Backstrom and company tonight, but every indication suggests that he'll handle it just fine.

- Adam Henrique has had a disappointing season offensively thus far, but given that he's a young player who's played with different linemates almost every game, it isn't that surprising. His stats don't jump out at you over the last five games (he has three assists), but I think he's starting to play much better. Henrique has been more involved offensively and has been creating chances, he's just had some unlucky bounces and seems to hit the post or crossbar on every chance he gets. He'll come around eventually, but the Devils need it to be sooner rather than later.

- Pete DeBoer won't answer questions regarding the lineup until close to puck drop, but my guess is that Mattias Tedenby will draw in for the injured Damien Brunner. Tedenby hasn't had much success this season in terms of offensive production, but he brings the same elements that Brunner brought to the lineup: speed and skill.

- I was doing some research this morning and I came across some impressive numbers with regards to Gelinas' success on the power play. Among all regular PP defenseman who have played 27 or more games, Gelinas leads the league in points/60 minutes of power play ice time recording 9.33 points. I like DeBoer's PP defense pairings, but perhaps Gelinas and Merrill should play a little more than Zidlicky and Greene when up a man.

- As expected, Martin Brodeur will get the nod in goal tonight. He's won three of his last four and has only allowed two goals in his last two starts, so he's in the midst of a pretty good streak here. The Devils will need that to continue, especially with Brunner out of the lineup. Brunner struggled for a long stretch, but he had been scoring a lot over the last handful of games.

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