The New Jersey Devils started the 2024-25 season with a couple of victories in Prague sooner than returning house to play in Newark, N.J.
With 3 video games already below their belt, the Devils will seek advice from the country’s capital on Saturday and function the season-opening opponent for famous person captain Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals.
New Jersey’s Sheldon Keefe noticed his house training debut spoiled by way of his former group on Thursday, courtesy of a 4-2 setback to the Toronto Maple Leafs.
“I am nonetheless adjusting to the purple, and the blue and white is again once more,” Keefe stated. “We are simply looking to construct our sport. The opponent had a large say within the sport (on Thursday), however that used to be nowhere excellent sufficient. Now not with regards to what we want or with regards to what we did in Prague.”
Timo Meier scored a purpose in his 2nd immediately sport for the Devils. He totaled 3 issues (two objectives, one lend a hand) in 3 conferences ultimate season with Washington.
The Capitals posted a 40-31-11 report in 2023-24 all over Spencer Carbery’s rookie season because the group’s head trainer, excellent sufficient for 91 issues and — by way of distinctive feature of a tiebreaker — the second one wild card within the Jap Convention. Alternatively, Washington used to be swept by way of the New York Rangers within the first spherical.
The Capitals, set to open their fiftieth season, are led by way of a well-recognized face in Ovechkin. The 3-time Hart Trophy recipient had a club-best 31 objectives ultimate season to spice up his profession overall to 853, which is 41 shy of tying Corridor of Famer Wayne Gretzky for essentially the most in NHL historical past.
“Once a year it will get more difficult to attain objectives,” Ovechkin, 39, stated in coaching camp. “That is my twentieth yr.”
The Devils most probably have a unique tackle Ovechkin’s evaluate, for the reason that he recorded 8 issues (3 objectives, 5 assists) to lend a hand Washington move 3-1 towards its Metropolitan Department rival ultimate season.
Dylan Strome added 3 objectives and two assists as opposed to New Jersey in 2023-24 and completed 2nd at the group for the season in each classes (27 objectives, 40 assists).
Offensive-minded defenseman John Carlson led the Capitals in assists with 42 whilst taking part in in all 82 video games ultimate season.
Washington, on the other hand, struggled to attain objectives as a group, registering simply 2.63 in line with sport to complete twenty eighth within the league.
With that during thoughts, the Capitals added forwards Pierre-Luc Dubois and Andrew Mangiapane to offer some pop alongside their best two traces.
Dubois scored 16 objectives in 2023-24 for the Los Angeles Kings and Mangiapane added 14 for the Calgary Flames, however each gamers are 3 seasons got rid of from their career-high totals. Dubois had 28 objectives whilst taking part in for the Winnipeg Jets in 2021-22, whilst Mangiapane erupted for 35 with the Flames in that marketing campaign.
“The best way we need to play — and it is in reality tough — we do not depend on 4 gamers anymore or 5 gamers,” Carbery informed The Washington Submit.
“We’d like each and every unmarried participant. … It is only a reminder to our guys of, to ensure that us to have luck, it’ll take each and every unmarried individual. That is group of workers integrated. And it’ll wish to be constant each and every unmarried evening.”
–Box Degree Media
