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The Washington Capitals face the New Jersey Devils with both teams on opposite ends of the standings to start the season. The Capitals have an 8-10-3 record and are near the bottom of the Metropolitan Division while the Devils have a 16-4 record and are in first place in the division. The Capitals are looking to rebound from a slow start while the Devils are hoping to remain one of the best teams in the NHL and the upcoming game looks to be a good one as a result.
The Capitals are having a rough season with their offense letting them down, scoring only 2.76 goals per game. While Alexander Ovechkin, Dylan Strome, and Evgeny Kuznetsov have scored 17 goals and 33 assists to lead the top two lines and defenseman John Carlson is adding five goals and six assists from the point, the rest of the offense has struggled. Only six skaters have scored five goals or more while only five skaters have added seven assists or more to the offense and opposing defenses can easily limit the top-heavy offense.
The offense has let the Capitals down but the defense has also struggled, allowing 3.19 goals per game. Nick Jensen and Trevor van Riemsdyk have combined for 2.1 defensive point shares and 82 blocked shots but the rest of the unit has struggled, allowing opponents to generate shots on the net at will. In addition, goaltender Charlie Lindgren is having a difficult year in the net with a .905 save percentage and a 3.13 goals-against average on 189 shots.