Top 3 key Capitals to watch against Devils

#2 Marus Johansson

Marcus Johansson has been on a tear lately. MoJo scored the game winning goal with 5:25 remaining in the third period on Saturday night’s comeback win against the Los Angeles Kings. It was his 28th career game winning goal and his 22nd as a member of the Washington Capitals.

Johansson has recorded five points in six games this season with two goals and three assists. That ranks tied for first on the Capitals. Johanssons plus three plus minus rating leads the team and his 13 shots on goal are tied for the third most on the team.

Through six games, Johansson has recorded a 100.0 on ice goals for percentage at five on five with four goals for and zero against. Johansson is one of two Capitals players (T.J. Oshie: three goals for, zero against) who have yet to be on the ice for a goal against at five on five at a minimum of two games played.

Johansson’s three assists on the power play is tied with Dylan Strome (one goal, two assists) for the team lead in power play points. Since his rookie season in 2010-11, Johansson has recorded 88 power play points with 26 goals and 62 assists as a member of the Capitals, which ranks sixth on the team in that span.

In 24 games since being reacquired by Washington on March 21 of last season, Johansson’s 11 points with five goals and six assists ranks tied for sixth on Washington. Johansson has added four power play assists, which ranks third on the Caps in that span.

#1 Alex Ovechkin

Alex Ovechkin has been off to a slow start this season and he’s due for a big game tonight against the Devils. In his career he’s recorded 37 goals against New Jersey.

One week ago vs. the Vancouver Canucks, Ovechkin recorded four points with two goals and two assists. That included his 781st and 782nd career goals.

Ovechkin now sits 20 goals shy of passing Gordie Howe (801 goals) for second place on the NHL’s all time goals list and five goals shy of passing Howe’s mark for the most goals scored by a player with a single franchise. Howe had 786 career goals with the Detroit Red Wings.

Ovechkin’s four point night moved him past Doug Gilmour (1,414) for the 19th most points in NHL history which tied him with Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins. As of Oct. 23, Ovechkin trails Crosby for four points for 19th place on the NHL’s all time points list.

Oct. 17 also marked Ovechkin’s 159th career multi goal game, giving him sole possession of second place on the NHL’s all time multi goal games list. He passed Brett Hull who finished his career with 158 multi goal games. Ovechkin only trails Wayne Gretzky (189) for the most multi goal games in NHL history.

Those are your three players to watch in tonight’s game. Puck drop is at 7 p.m. on NBC Sports Washington.