G13 New Jersey Devils vs. Washington Capitals: Time to rebound

The Devils made a glaring amount of errors against the Avalanche. They're in a good position to bounce back against an offensively starved Capitals team.

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A few notes to get you set for New Jersey vs. Washington:

Poised for a breakout

The Ondrej Palat - Dawson Mercer - Timo Meier line isn’t terrifying on paper – at least right now.

Palat hasn’t scored a goal this season, Mercer has one point, and Meier still isn’t at the level we’ve seen him at for years.

All that being said, the early returns suggest this trio could be very productive sooner rather than later.

They have played 19 minutes together at 5v5. In that time, they’ve generated 32 shot attempts, 20 scoring chances, and 2.14 expected goals while controlling a 64% xG share.

We know Meier is an elite top of the lineup winger, we know Mercer is capable of drastically more, and we know Palat can successfully compliment good players as the 3rd wheel on a talented line.

It’s not going to take long for a line generating *checks notes* 6.67 expected goals per 60 to start getting results offensively.

The matchup is very good for that to happen. The Capitals are not a good defensive team. They’ve ‘tightened up’ lately and have still allowed more than 3 xG per 60 at 5v5 over the past five games.

The goaltending hasn’t been great either. Darcy Kuemper owns a .892 save percentage and has conceded a couple times more than expected during 5v5 play.

This is a good spot for the Devils – and their 2nd line, in particular – to take things up a notch offensively.

Don’t sleep on Washington’s power play

There was a time not long ago that the Capitals’ power play wasn’t all that dangerous. They didn’t generate chances at a high rate, they were extremely predictable, and it seemed as if the only point of its existence was to feed Alexander Ovechkin goals.

While the latter is still true to an extent, the process is much, much, better under new head coach Spencer Carbery and his staff.

The Capitals have generated 11.22 expected goals per 60 on the man advantage this season, which slots them 3rd in the NHL. No team has generated high-danger chances more efficiently than the Caps.

Although Ovechkin is (rightfully) still the focal point of the attack and the primary shooter, the Capitals are working the puck to other players as well.

Dylan Strome leads the team in power play goals while Ovechkin, T.J. Oshie, and Nicklas Backstrom (press F to pay respects) are in a three-way tie for most HD chances while up a man.

This is a long-winded way of saying the Capitals actually have some creativity in their schemes and are generating quality looks at an alarmingly high rate. It hasn’t translated to many goals yet but that’s likely just a matter of time.

With scoring more of an issue sans Jack Hughes and Nico Hischier, the Devils can’t afford to parade to the box and spot the Capitals a goal or two on the power play.

They need to be disciplined or they’re likely going to pay a big price.

Upping the ante