Capitals at Devils preview

CAPITALS (37-17-6) at DEVILS (23-27-10)
1 p.m. ET; NHLN, MSG+, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

The forward, who scored his 699th goal in a 4-3 overtime loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday, has 29 goals in 56 games against New Jersey, including 10 goals in 25 road games.
The Capitals, 3-6-1 in their past 10 games, are tied with the Pittsburgh Penguins for first place in the Metropolitan Division.
Goalie Mackenzie Blackwood is expected to start for the Devils after he made 36 saves in a 2-1 win against the San Jose Sharks on Thursday. Blackwood is 5-0-0 with a 0.99 goals-against average, .975 save percentage and two shutouts in his past five starts for New Jersey, which is 6-3-3 in its past 12 games.

Players to watch

Capitals defenseman John Carlson has 10 points (two goals, eight assists) in his past nine games.
Devils forward Kyle Palmieri has 13 points (seven goals, six assists) in his past 15 games.

They said it

"We've got to get going. Not only for ourselves, but to send a message that when we get to [the Stanley Cup Playoffs], we mean business." -- Capitals forward T.J. Oshie
"[Ovechkin's] not just going for 700, he wants to get as many as he can. We're at home, it's an afternoon game, and I'm sure the building will be full. For us, it's about all five guys on the ice taking care of the puck and making sure that when their elite players are out there, we're managing the game properly and making it hard on them." -- Devils defenseman P.K. Subban

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Carl Hagelin -- Lars Eller -- Richard Panik
Brendan Leipsic -- Nic Dowd -- Garnet Hathaway
Brenden Dillon -- John Carlson
Michal Kempny -- Dmitry Orlov
Jonas Siegenthaler -- Nick Jensen
Ilya Samsonov
Braden Holtby
Scratched:Travis Boyd, Radko Gudas
Injured:None

Devils projected lineup

Jack Hughes -- Nico Hischier -- Kyle Palmieri
Jesper Bratt -- Pavel Zacha -- Nikita Gusev
Miles Wood -- Travis Zajac -- Wayne Simmonds
John Hayden -- Kevin Rooney -- Joey Anderson
Mirco Mueller -- P.K. Subban
Dakota Mermis
-- Damon Severson
Colton White -- Connor Carrick
Mackenzie Blackwood
Cory Schneider
Scratched:None
Injured: Sami Vatanen (lower body), Nick Merkley (eye), Will Butcher (upper body)

Status report

Samsonov will make his first start since Feb. 10, when he allowed five goals on 20 shots and was relieved by Holtby in the second period of a 5-3 loss to the New York Islanders. Holtby will start against the Penguins on Sunday. ... Devils goalie Louis Domingue cleared waivers and was assigned to Binghamton of the American Hockey League on Friday.

Stat pack

Backstrom has seven points (one goal, six assists) in his past seven games. ... Bratt has two goals and an assist in his past four games.