The Washington Capitals will look to avenge their opening-night loss when they visit the New Jersey Devils Saturday night in Newark, N.J.
New Jersey beat the host Capitals 5-3 in their Oct. 12 season opener. Since then, the Capitals have bounced back, posting back-to-back home wins against the Vegas Golden Knights and the Dallas Stars, who both came to Washington undefeated.
“Those are two really good teams coming into our building, right at the top of the Western Conference for a reason,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “To come out with four points against those two teams — we should feel confident about what we’re building here from an identity and how-we-play standpoint.”
On Thursday night, the Capitals trailed the Stars 1-0 after one period but emerged with a 3-2 win. Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome and Taylor Raddysh scored, and Charlie Lindgren stopped 22 shots for Washington. For Raddysh, signed as a free agent on July 1, it was his first goal as a Capital.
Wilson, who finished with 18 goals in 74 games last season, has scored a goal in each of Washington’s three games on a line with left wing Connor McMichael and newcomer Pierre-Luc Dubois at center.
“Good linemates, they’re finding me in good spots,” Wilson said of his goal streak. “When they’re going in, they’re going in, so keep shooting the puck and it’s been a good start as a group.”
Strome, who led the Capitals in points last season, has two goals and two assists. The Capitals have scored 10 goals in three games despite Alex Ovechkin having yet to score, though he has three assists. The Washington captain needs 42 goals to pass Wayne Gretzky (894 goals) for first place all-time in the NHL.
After dropping a 4-2 decision at the Carolina Hurricanes on Tuesday, the Devils rebounded for a 3-1 win over the Senators in Ottawa on Thursday. Erik Haula, Nathan Bastian and Paul Cotter scored for New Jersey.
“We’ve been good with our responses so far this year,” Haula said. “Even if a team gets a goal or whatnot, the next couple shifts our response has been good. And same with games. We try to have a motto of not to lose two in a row.”
Jacob Markstrom made 30 saves and carried a shutout into the final minutes before Carolina got a goal during 6-on-5 play.
“Just terrible that he doesn’t get the shutout that he deserves in this one,” Devils coach Sheldon Keefe said. “I thought in the early going of the game, the first period, he was really strong and really kind of let us get our legs going and keep going in the game.”
Markstrom, who was acquired from the Calgary Flames in a trade in June, is 3-2-0 with a 2.43 goals-against average in his first five starts with the Devils. He made 29 saves in the win against Washington last Saturday.
Cotter continues to impress. He scored his fifth goal of the season off a rebound in the third period to make 3-0. The 24-year-old center had seven goals in 76 games for Vegas last season.
