The New Jersey Devils face the Washington Capitals with both teams on opposite ends of the standings to wrap up the season. The Devils have a 51-22-8 record and are looking to finish the season with the best record in the Metropolitan Division while the Capitals have a 35-37-9 record and will finish the season in sixth place in the division and out of the playoffs. Both teams look to end the season with a win and the upcoming game should be a good one as a result.
The Devils are having a great season with their offense leading the way, scoring 3.51 goals per game with 20 goals in the last four games. Jack Hughes, Jesper Bratt, and Nico Hischier have scored 106 goals and 144 assists to lead the top two lines but the entire offense has stepped up. Tomas Tatar, Dawson Mercer, and Erik Haula have combined for 59 goals and 82 assists while defenseman Dougie Hamilton has added 21 goals and 52 assists from the point to put the offense over the top.
The offense has carried the Devils but the defense has struggled, allowing only 2.69 goals per game. Dougie Hamilton and Ryan Graves have combined for 10.3 defensive point shares and 234 blocked shots while John Marino, Jonas Seigenthaler, and Damon Severson have combined for 12.3 defensive point shares to add depth to the unit. In addition, goaltender Vitek Vanecek has been great with a .910 save percentage and a 2.46 go als-against average on 1295 shots with 7.0 goals saved above average.