The Washington Capitals have enjoyed the comforts of home lately and aim to keep doing so when they host the New Jersey Devils on Friday.
The Capitals (34-27-8, 76 points) are 7-1-1 in their past nine games as the hosts after a 4-1 win against the Ottawa Senators on Wednesday. They’ve won 21 of the 36 home games they’ve played, one of seven teams in the NHL with that many victories.
“I think the only thing matters right now is two points,” goalie Logan Thompson said. “I don’t care if I let in seven goals, so we’ll build off it. And every point is important right now, so just get ready for the next games. We’ve got two more here at home, and those are equally as important.”
Washington entered Thursday six points back of the two wild-card spots from the Eastern Conference, held by the Boston Bruins and Detroit Red Wings, with the Columbus Blue Jackets, Ottawa Senators and Philadelphia Flyers ahead of them on the outside.
The climb could be a little steeper when they wake up Friday as each of those teams played Thursday. Columbus, Ottawa and Philadelphia will each have a game in hand.
Alex Ovechkin notched his 25th goal of the season against Ottawa. It was his 999th NHL career total goal (regular season and playoffs), leaving him one shy becoming the second player in league history after Wayne Gretzky with at least 1,000 combined goals.
At the other end of the career spectrum, rookie defenseman Cole Hutson impressed in his NHL debut. The 19-year-old, a second-round pick by Washington in the 2024 NHL Draft, scored the first goal of his career, with an empty-net tally in the final minute of regulation.
“I thought he was phenomenal,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said of Hutson. “I thought right from the first shift, we wanted to get him out there as quickly as we could and start him in the game, first shift was as good a first shift as we’ve had all year. … I don’t know if you could have drawn up a better first game for Cole Hutson in a Capitals jersey.”
The Devils (35-31-2, 72 points) arrive in the nation’s capital eyeing a fourth straight win. They’re coming off a 6-3 victory at the New York Rangers on Wednesday, improving to 7-2-0 in their past nine games.
“It was a well-played game,” New Jersey captain Nico Hischier said of the win against the Rangers. “We executed the game plan that we had, and in the end it was a deserved win. It shows how we can play. That’s what we’re looking for right now, building some consistency and having a brand, and playing the rest of the season like that.”
Jack Hughes led the way with a goal and two assists in the win against New York, his second straight three-point effort — and giving him nine points (three goals, six assists) in a four-game point streak.
Hughes leads the Devils with 54 points (18 goals, 36 assists), tied with Jesper Bratt (16 goals, 38 assists). Bratt has six points (two goals, four assists) in his own four-game point streak and 12 points (three goals, nine assists) in his past nine games.
