Washington Capitals Face New Jersey Before Heading into All-Star Break

Can the Washington Capitals head into the break with a win?

The Washington Capitals had a rough go of it their last time out, getting blanked 3-0 by the Ottawa Senators Tuesday night. To be fair, the Capitals were playing the second game of a back-to-back and had to travel from DC to Ottawa after playing Monday night.

Even with the loss, the Capitals still lead the NHL with 70 points and are 8-1-1 in their last 10 games.

Before being shut out by the Senators the Caps were rolling on offense, scoring at least four goals in each of the previous eight games. Scoring has been coming from all four lines, with guys like Andre Burakovsky, Lars Eller, Jay Beagle, Brett Connolly, and Daniel Winnik all producing.

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Helping Washington succeed recently has been the fact that it’s not just been the forwards who have been doing all the scoring. Defensemen Dmitry Orlov, Matt Niskanen, Nate Schmidt, and John Carlson (before getting injured) have all produced solid numbers.

Of course, Washington is also helped by having one of the best goalies in the league. Braden Holtby had the night off Tuesday so will likely get the starting nod against the Devils.

Thursday will be the third of four meetings between the Caps and the Devils. The two teams played a home-and-home set in late December. New Jersey won 2-1 in a shootout at Verizon Center, while Washington went to New Jersey and walked away with a 6-2 victory.

Washington struggled to start the season and at one point was sitting in fourth place in the Metropolitan division. However, the Caps have turned it around and are once again playing like one of the favorites in the Eastern Conference.

A win against New Jersey heading into the All-Star break could set the tone for the second part of the season.