Gameday: at New Jersey, Nov. 11

Crash the net! Work hard! Aaaaand, again!

The Washington Capitals are in Newark, New Jersey, Friday evening to take on the Devils as they attempt to get back on track following two straight losses, including an especially discouraging effort at the hands of the Dallas Stars on Tuesday night.  The Caps come into Friday's action with a 9-4-0 record, which gives them 18 standings points and places them first in the Southeast Division and third in the Eastern Conference.  New Jersey, on the other hand, is 7-5-1 for 15 points and have won three in a row, including a 3-2 victory over the Hurricanes on Tuesday. Those 15 points put the Devils fourth in the Atlantic Division and ninth in the East.  This is the first of four meetings between these two teams this season.

Devils coach Peter DeBoer is likely to go with the legendary Martin Brodeur in goal, his third consecutive start for New Jersey.  Marty has struggled this season with injuries and inconsistency but made 21 saves on 23 shots in his last outing and has won two straight starts.  Overall, he has a 2-2-0 record with a 3.00 GAA and .885 save percentage.  New Jersey may be missing star winger Ilya Kovalchuk for the game, as he has missed the last two contests with a leg injury. Top line center Travis Zajac, who has missed the entire year with an achilles injury, is on injured reserve and will not play.

Tomas Vokoun is expected to get the call from Bruce Boudreau following Michal Neuvirth allowing five goals on Tuesday.  Vokoun has a 7-2-0 record on the year to go along with a 2.54 GAA and .915 save percentage and a shutout, but has been decidedly poor recently, allowing 11 goals in his last seven periods of play following his tremendous start.  On the injury front, Mike Green is considered questionable because of a right ankle injury that he suffered almost three weeks ago, but there is optimism that he will be able to play.  If he can, look for John Erskine to take a seat in his favor.  Up front, the healthy scratch is anyone's guess, as Matt Hendricks, Mathieu Perreault, and Cody Eakin all seem to have a chance at getting a seat in the press box.

Puck drops for this one 7:08-ish.