New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals: Prediction, Preview, Picks & Odds - 3/9/2023

Time: 7 p.m. ET

Venue: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

Where to watch: MSGSN2, NBCSWA

DraftKings: Devils -145, Capitals +125

BetMGM: Devils -145, Capitals +125

Caesars: Devils -145, Capitals +125

Devils: 41-16-6

Capitals: 31-28-6

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The New Jersey Devils will be playing the Washington Capitals on Thursday, March 9 in Washington.

The New Jersey Devils lost against the Toronto Maple Leafs on Tuesday, March 7 at Prudential Center in Newark, New Jersey with a score of 4-3. The New Jersey Devils currently rank 2nd in the Metropolitan Division.

Erik Haula had two goals and an assist, Ondrej Palat had a goal and two assists, and Vanecek made 21 saves for the Devils (41-16-6), who had their five-game point streak end.

New Jersey is four points behind the Carolina Hurricanes for first in the Metropolitan Division.

"With five minutes left, the other team should have to earn the opportunity," Devils coach Lindy Ruff said. "They didn't earn it. We gave it to them. We didn't stay on the puck on the tying goal. We didn't come back hard enough, and they get to walk in and tie the game."

Timo Meier, who was acquired from the San Jose Sharks on Feb. 26, was in the penalty box for high-sticking on Matthews' game-winner.

"I should keep my stick down. It's just kind of how it goes tonight," Meier said. "I will start learning from it, and it's going to motivate me to get better and make sure this is not going to happen again. The next time we're in this position, we're going to turn the game to our side."

Calle Jarnkrok gave the Maple Leafs a 1-0 lead at 7:30 of the second period when he finished a backdoor pass from Nylander at the right post. Haula tied it 1-1 at 16:47, scoring from the slot after Justin Holl and Marner couldn't clear away the rebound of Jesper Boqvist's initial shot.

Mitchell Marner put Toronto back in front 2-1 at 4:57 of the third period, scoring on a short-handed breakaway after stealing the puck from Meier in the neutral zone.

During the same power play, Palat tied it 2-2 by finishing his own rebound in front at 6:00.

Haula gave the Devils a 3-2 lead at 9:02 when he redirected Palat's shot from along the left boards short side on Samsonov.

Michael Bunting tied it 3-3 at 15:10, shooting into an open net off a backhand pass from David Kampf, who forced Vitek Vanecek to overcommit. Auston Matthews then gave Toronto a 4-3 lead at 17:07 with a power-play goal.

The New Jersey Devils have won six of their last 10 games.

The Washington Capitals lost against the Los Angeles Kings last Monday, March 6 at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles, California with a score of 4-2. The Washington Capitals currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan] Division.

Alex Ovechkin scored, and Rasmus Sandin had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (31-28-6), who had won two straight. Darcy Kuemper allowed three goals on 40 shots. 

Washington is three points behind the Pittsburgh Penguins, who have three games in hand, for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

"If you start looking at the big picture and trying to do the math and everything like that, obviously it can get a little daunting," Kuemper said. Win the next one and go from there." 

Sandin gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 11:39 of the second period, scoring five-hole with a backhand from his knees after he whiffed on his initial shot from the slot.

"Luckily I got a little touch on it, and luckily it went in, but it didn't help us enough tonight," said Sandin, who has five points (one goal, four assists) in two games with Washington since being acquired from the Toronto Maple Leafs on Feb. 28. "Still nice to get that first one out of the way, for sure."

Vladislav Gavrikov tied it 1-1 at 13:18, chipping down and putting in the rebound of Kevin Fiala's shot. Phillip Danault put the Kings back in front 2-1 at 19:27 when his redirection of Viktor Arvidsson's shot bounced over Kuemper's left pad.

Ovechkin tied it 2-2 at 2:31 of the third period with a one-timer from the top of the left circle during a 5-on-3 power play.

"I didn't do too much," said Sandin, who had the primary assist on the play. "That's his signature spot."

Los Angeles scored two more goals to make the final score 4-2.

Prediction

Still waiting for a team to stop the New Jersey buzzsaw. Devils 4, Capitals 2

Devils:

Tomas Tatar -- Nico Hischier -- Dawson Mercer

Timo Meier -- Jack Hughes -- Jesper Bratt

Ondrej Palat -- Erik Haula -- Jesper Boqvist

Miles Wood -- Michael McLeod -- Nathan Bastian

Jonas Siegenthaler -- Dougie Hamilton

Ryan Graves -- John Marino

Kevin Bahl -- Damon Severson

Vitek Vanecek

Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson  

Anthony Mantha -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie  

Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- Craig Smith   

Conor Sheary -- Nic Dowd -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel  

Rasmus Sandin -- Trevor van Riemsdyk   

Matt Irwin -- Gabriel Carlsson   

Alexander Alexeyev -- Vincent Iorio

Darcy Kuemper