Caps vs. Devils 12-26-2009 Preview

Washington Capitals (23-14; 52 points) vs. New Jersey Devils (26-9; 53 points):
Caps Game #38, Home Game #17, NHL Game #560

Verizon Center, Washington, D.C. 7:07 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WFED 1500-AM. New Jersey TV: MSG plus. Radio: WFAN 660-AM.  NHL Center Ice: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic feed.

Tonight, the Caps wrap up their first season series when they face the New Jersey Devils in the second game of their three game homestand.  The Caps have yet to beat New Jersey this season, though when the Devils visited the Phone Booth in October, the Caps were able to squeeze out a Bettman point when they lost in a gimmick.  The Devils have been rolling along all season and are currently on a league best 5 game winning streak.  Luckily for the Caps, Martin Brouder finally got around to breaking Terry Sawchuk's shutout record in the Devils last game, a 4-0 blanking of the Penguin Scum in Pittsburgh on Monday night.

What The Natives Are Saying:


(Com)Post.  Times.  Caps.com.

Neutral Views:

NHL.com.  AP Wire. 

Open Source Intelligence:

The Record: ABP, give the man a break.  The Star-Ledger.

What Do We Expect Tonight:

With the mid-point of the season fast approaching, the Caps can start to take a look at where they are in the overall standings and they're in good position to make a run for the franchise's first ever President's Trophy.  However, if the Caps have any ideas on winning it this season, they need to beat New Jersey at home tonight.  The Caps currently trail the Devils by a single point in the standings but New Jersey has two games in hand.  Should the Caps lose tonight, they would need all kinds of help to catch New Jersey and secure the #1 overall seed in the playoffs.  Just like Wednesday night, a fast start against a grinding Devils team is key.  The Caps have yet to score more than 2 goals in a game against the Devils this season which will have to change if we want to win this game tonight.  While some are making hay out of the fact that A.O. missed the last two meetings between these teams, the Caps have not won a season series against the Devils since 1999-2000, well predating even the Jaromir Jagr era.

Caps Nut Official Prediction:

Caps 2
Devils 3
Winner by Zajac
(19-18 on the season with one perfect game)