NEW JERSEY DEVILS NOTES:
Last Game:
Buffalo Sabres 2 New Jersey Devils 6
(40-33-7 – 87 PTS) (51-22-8 – 110 PTS)
Three Stars: 1. T. Tatar 2. V. Vanecek 3. M. Wood
SCORE 1 ST 2 ND 3 RD OT SO FINAL
Buffalo 0 1 1 – – 2
DEVILS 1 2 3 – – 6
Goals:
BUF: J. Skinner, M. Samuelsson,
NJD: J. Boqvist, J. Siegenthaler, M. Wood, T. Tatar, T. Tatar (ENG), J. Hughes (ENG)
INJURIES/ILLNESS
PLAYER INJURY OUT SINCE GAMES MISSED
Jonathan Bernier – LTIR Lower-body, hip 2021-22 81
Curtis Lazar Undisclosed 3/19/23 12
2022-23 Total Man-Games Lost to Injury/illness: 224
WHAT TO KNOW
The Devils tied a franchise record 51 wins in a single season, after Tuesday’s win vs Buffalo at the Rock. Jersey’s team tied the 2008-09 team, which logged a 51-27-4 (106 PTS) record. The team also earned 110 PTS in the standings and clinched home-ice advantage in the First Round of the 2022-23 Stanley Cup Playoffs. The most points that the Devils earned in a single season was 111 PTS, after posting a 48-19-12 record in 2000-01. Now, the Devils aim to set a new franchise record and finish the 2022-23 campaign with 52 wins. New Jersey’s record for regular-season finales is 18-18-2-1 since 1982-83. The team also played in its 2022-23 home finale via Tuesday and finished the campaign with a 24-13-4 record on home ice. The franchise record for the most wins at home in a single season is 29 wins, which Jersey earned in 1993-94 and 1997-98. Tuesday’s win marked the 14th time in franchise history that the team won 24, or more, games on home ice in a single season. Head coach Lindy Ruff is the second coach in franchise history who earned 51 wins (B. Sutter), which also marked his third most wins in a single season. Ruff earned 53 wins with Buffalo in 2006-07 and then 52 wins in 2005-06. The victory also marked Ruff’s 97 th career win with the Devils, which is now tied with Brent Sutter for the fifth most all-time in franchise history. J. Lemaire ranks first in franchise history with 276 career wins. The Devils officially clinched a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs on Saturday, March 25, for the first time since 2017-18, but also earned 100 points in a season for the first time since 2011-12 (48-28-6=102 PTS). It marked the 14th time in franchise history that the Devils earned 100, or more, points in a single season for the standings.
VS CONFERENCE/DIVISION
The Devils are 22-5-5 vs the Western Conference this season. The franchise record for most wins vs the Western Conference was 18, which was logged in 2000-01. The Devils own a 29-17-3 record vs the Eastern Conference and 17-6-2 vs the Metropolitan Division.
WASHINGTON CAPITALS NOTES:
LAST GAME
Washington 2, Boston Bruins 5
April 11, 2023 * TD Garden * Boston, MA
Shots: WSH: 27; BOS: 44
Power Plays: WSH: 1/2; BOS: 2/2
Three Stars: 1. Marchand (BOS), 2. Nosek (BOS), 3. Pastrnak (BOS)
RECENT TRANSACTIONS
Recalled forward Henrik Borgstrom from AHL Hershey, 4/11
Recalled forward Joe Snively from AHL Hershey, 4/10
Recalled forward Beck Malenstyn from AHL Hershey, 4/7
Signed goaltender Mitchell Gibson to a one-year NHL entry-level contract, 4/7
Re-assigned forward Ludwig Persson from BIK Karlskoga (Sweden-2) to the AHL Hershey, 4/7
Signed goaltender Mitchell Gibson to an amateur tryout agreement (ATO), 4/2
INJURIES/ILLNESSES
Carl Hagelin: 10/12/22-4/11/23 (81 games)
Connor Brown: 10/20/22-4/11/23 (77 games)
T.J. Oshie: 10/31/22-11/19/22, 12/19/22-12/31/22, 4/2/23-4/11/23 (22 games)
Trevor van Riemsdyk: 4/2/23-4/11/23 (5 games)
Anthony Mantha: 2/12/23, 2/23/23-2/26/23, 4/6/23-4/11/23 (8 games)
Alex Ovechkin: 1/21/23, 3/14/23, 4/8/23-4/11/23 (5 games)
Nic Dowd: 12/17/22, 1/17/23-2/18/23, 4/10/23-4/11/23 (15 games)
Marcus Johansson: 2/25/23-2/26/23 (2 games)
Washington Capitals: Media Notes
Tom Wilson: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/26/23-2/16/23 (49 games)
Nicklas Backstrom: 10/12/22-1/6/23, 1/24/22 (43 games)
Dmitry Orlov: 11/7/22-12/9/22 (16 games)
Erik Gustafsson: 12/11/22 (1 game)
Lars Eller: 12/13/22 (1 game)
Hunter Shepard: 12/17/22 (1 game)
Alex Alexeyev: 12/11/22-12/19/22 (5 games)
Beck Malenstyn: 11/3/22-12/27/22 (26 games)
Martin Fehervary: 12/5/22-12/29/22, 3/4/23-3/9/23 (15 games)
Nick Jensen: 3/4/23-3/9/23, 3/19/23 (5 games)
John Carlson: 10/31/22-11/9/22, 12/27/22-3/21/23 (42 games)
Sonny Milano: 12/15/22, 3/14/23-3/15/23, 3/25/23-3/30/23 (6 games)
Darcy Kuemper: 12/5/22-12/17/22, 3/19/23-3/21/23 (9 games)
Man Games Lost: 434
TONIGHT’S GAME
The Capitals host the New Jersey Devils on Thursday at Capital One Arena in the regular-season finale. Washington is 1-1-1 against
New Jersey this season. The Capitals fell to the Devils 3-2 in the shootout in their last meeting on March 9 at Capital One Arena.
Washington defeated New Jersey 6-3 in Newark on Oct. 24 and the Devils topped the Capitals 5-1 on Nov. 26. Washington is 124-78-
13-17 all-time vs. New Jersey and 26-4-4 (.824 points percentage) in their last 34 games against the Devils dating back to the 2015-16
season. In addition, the Capitals have earned at least one point in eight-straight home games versus the Devils (6-0-2).
HOME vs. NEW JERSEY DEVILS
Record Goals For Goals Against Streak
71-30-6-10 432 313 1 NJD SO win (3/9/23)
CAPITALS vs. DEVILS ALL-TIME (Career Totals)
Games Goals Assists Points
Ovechkin (71) Ovechkin (38) Backstrom (40) Ovechkin (77)
Backstrom (60) Backstrom (18) Ovechkin (39) Backstrom (58)
Carlson (52) Kuznetsov (10) Carlson (32) Carlson (41)
Streak Snapped
- The Capitals have failed to qualify for the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2013-14, snapping an eight-season playoff streak. Washington’s eight-year streak was tied for second-longest active playoff streak in the NHL (Pittsburgh: 16 seasons; Nashville: 8 seasons).
- From 2014-15 to 2021-22, the Capitals had a record of 374-176-67 (815 points, .660 point percentage). In that span, the Capitals ranked second in the NHL in wins, points and point percentage and won a Stanley Cup (2018), two Presidents’ Trophies (2016, 2017) and five-straight division titles (2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020).
- The Capitals finished with 100 or more standings points in six of the eight seasons during the streak. The only seasons in which the Capitals did not reach the 100-point mark from 2014-15 to 2021-22 were the shortened 2019-20 (90 points in 69 games – a 106-point pace) and the 2020-21 (77 points in 56 games – a 112-point pace) seasons.
- The Capitals have missed the playoffs for just the eighth time since the 1982-83 season (1997, 1999, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2007, 2014).
Special Teams
- Over their last 13 games, the Capitals have converted on 10 of 35 power-play opportunities (28.6 percent).
- The Capitals have converted on 18 of 73 power-play opportunities (24.7 percent) since Feb. 16 and own the ninth-highest power-play percentage in the NHL in that span.
- Seven different Capitals have scored on the man advantage during the 25-game stretch (Ovechkin: 4 PPG; Oshie: 4 PPG; Nicklas Backstrom: 4 PPG; Tom Wilson: 3 PPG; Sonny Milano: 1 PPG; Evgeny Kuznetsov: 1 PPG; John Carlson: 1 PPG).
- This season, the Capitals’ 82.1 penalty kill percentage ranks tied for ninth in the NHL, through games played April 11.
- On average, the Capitals are shorthanded 2.77 times per game, which is the fifth-lowest rate in the League.
- Washington’s +25 net penalty differential this season ranks tied for sixth in the NHL, through games played April 11.
