Game 25: 31-14-7-3 (PTS-W-L-OT)
Friday November 30, 2018 New Jersey Devils @ Washington Capitals
Place: Capital One Center
Time: 7:00 p.m. ET
TV: NBCSWA+, NHLN-US, TVAS, MSG+
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
NHL.COM for Live Box Score
Last Game: Mon November 26 Capitals Won 4-1 against Islanders
Next Game: Sun December 2, 3:00pm ET Ducks @ Capitals
 8-Ovechkin | 19-Bäckström | 43-Wilson |
| 13-Vrana | 92-Kuznetsov | 10-Connolly |
| 65-Burakovsky | 20-Eller | 25-Smith-Pelly |
| 23-Jaskin | 26-Dowd | 18-Stephenson |
| 6-Kempny | 74-Carlson |
| 9-Orlov | 2-Niskanen |
| 29-Djoos | 34-22-Bowey |
|
| 70-Holtby (starter) |
| 1-Copley |
-- SCRATCH -- | 72-Boyd |
| 77-Oshie (upper body injury, day-to-day) |
| 34-Siegenthaler |
-- INJURED RESERVE -- | 44-Orpik (Knee Surgery, 3-5 weeks before return) |
| |
-- 1st Powerplay Unit -- | 43-Wilson | 19-Bäckström | 92-Kuznetsov |
-- 2nd Powerplay Unit -- | 13-Vrana | 10-Connolly | 65-Burakovsky |
Referees: Trevor Hanson (#14), Dean Morton (#36)
Linesmen: Travis Gawryletz (#67), Brandon Gawryletz (#64)
DEVILS LINEUP Taylor Hall - Nico Hischier - Kyle Palmieri
Marcus Johansson - Pavel Zacha - Jesper Bratt
Blake Coleman - Travis Zajac - Miles Wood
Brian Boyle - Brett Seney - Michael McLeod
Mirco Mueller - Sami Vatanen
Andy Greene - Damon Severson
Will Butcher - Ben Lovejoy
Keith Kinkaid (starter)
Cory Schneider
1st Period03:51 GOAL 19-Bäckström, assists 8-Ovechkin & 6-Kempny 1-0 WSH
2nd Period00:08 SH GOAL 43-Wilson, assists 2-Niskanen & 6-Kempny 2-0 WSH
09:23 Devils SH GOAL Zajac, assist Coleman 2-1 WSH
3rd Period05:45 GOAL 65-Burakovsky, assists 6-Kempny & 19-Bäckström 3-1 WSH
10:57 PP GOAL 19-Bäckström, assists 92-Kuznetsov & 74-Carlson 4-1
12:35 Devils GOAL Hischier, unassisted 4-2 WSH
18:10 Devils GOAL Johansson, assists Hischier & Hall 4-3 WSH
18:30 EN GOAL 8-Ovechkin, unassisted 5-3 WSH
19:37 EN GOAL 19-Bäckström, assists 8-Ovechkin 6-3 WSH
FINAL: 6-3 WSH
By Isabelle Khurshudyan NNovember 30 at 12:55 PM
Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov returns to the lineup after concussion
Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov has six goals and 15 assists through 18 games. (Nick Wass/Associated Press)
Washington Capitals center Evgeny Kuznetsov will play his first game in more than two weeks on Friday night, returning to the lineup against the New Jersey Devils after suffering a concussion on Nov. 14. At the time Kuznetsov went down, he was leading the team in scoring with six goals and 15 assists in 18 games, so his return will be a considerable boost to a club that’s won its past six games.
“He’s a special player and we’re just so fortunate to have him back,” Coach Todd Reirden said. “The energy he brings, the speed, allows us to slot our lines a little differently. He’s one of the elite players in the league when he’s playing the way he can play, and we’re fortunate to see a lot of that early in the year. I’m just happy he’s back 100 percent healthy and good to go tonight.”
Since Kuznetsov’s first full NHL season in 2014-15, he hadn’t missed more than three games going into this year, and the concussion kept him out for six. Asked whether this was the first concussion of his career, Kuznetsov said, “I don’t have a lot of brain in my head so it’s not that big of a deal for me.”
“I feel pretty good on the ice, and it’s so good to be back on the ice, you know?” Kuznetsov said. “It’s been a couple tough days, when you can’t even do the bike, that’s kind of not my style, you know? . . . With injuries, it’s not easy to handle it, especially with that type. You can’t even do anything. You just have to take your time and get rest. When you practice a lot and you have a lot of games, you think you’re tired and you feel bad, but then when you don’t practice and don’t have games, you feel even worse.”
Kuznetsov had been centering a top line with captain Alex Ovechkin and right wing Tom Wilson before he got hurt, but with the Capitals playing well, Reirden chose to keep Nicklas Backstrom between Ovechkin and Wilson. Kuznetsov will skate with Brett Connolly and Jakub Vrana, and he’ll also return to the top power-play unit.
“It’s not easy to join the team when they’ve won six in a row,” Kuznetsov said. “My job is probably don’t change anything, just try to play my game and do what’s best for the team. . . . When you’re excited to get back on the ice, you want to be everywhere, you want to do everything. But at the same time, you have to understand it’s not going to be easy in the game. It takes a little bit of time to get back in the game routine.”
Forward T.J. Oshie, who also suffered a concussion on Nov. 14, has yet to start skating, and he’ll miss a seventh straight game on Friday.
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