Basisphilosophie » Avalanche scored twice late in the period

If the New Jersey Devils wish to again consider themselves a serious playoff contender this season Toronto Maple Leafs T-Shirts Authentic , there is no better test early on than to skate against the defending Stanley Cup champions.That is precisely what the Devils (1-0-0) will do Thursday night when they play their home opener at Prudential Center against the Washington Capitals (2-0-1).The Devils earned their first playoff berth in six seasons a year ago, finishing eighth in the Eastern Conference, before falling to the Tampa Bay Lightning in the first round. They started 2018-19 on the right foot last Saturday, skating to a 5-2 victory over the Edmonton Oilers as part of the NHL’s Global Series in Gothenburg, Sweden.Article continues below ...“I think we grew as a team, really got that brotherhood together, going all over Europe, it really brought everyone closer together,” Devils goalie Keith Kinkaid said of the team’s week-long trip to Switzerland and Sweden. “And I think it showed out there. All the hard work really added up.”Veteran forwards Kyle Palmieri and Travis Zajac both scored twice in the win, while Miles Wood added a pair of assists and Kinkaid stopped 17 of 19 shots.Now, after some long travel home, one practice and a couple days off, the Devils host a division rival that won hockey’s ultimate prize last spring.“You have your home opener, against the defending Stanley Cup champs Toronto Maple Leafs Hoodies Authentic , so we’re expecting our guys to be ready to go, our fans and building to be excited,” said Devils coach John Hynes.Kinkaid, who won a career-high 26 games last season while filling in for injured No. 1 goalie Cory Schneider, will start against the Capitals. Schneider remains sidelined following offseason hip surgery and is getting closer to a return to action.With Washington playing on back-to-back nights, 26-year-old backup Pheonix Copley will make his Capitals debut between the pipes Thursday. It will be only his second career NHL game — and third appearance overall.In his only other NHL start, Copley allowed five goals on 29 shots for the St. Louis Blues in a loss to the Winnipeg Jets on Jan. 21, 2017. Last year with Hershey in the AHL, Copley was 15-17-6 with a 2.91 GAA and .896 save percentage.“My mindset is to get better every game, give the team a chance to win every time they give me an opportunity to play,” Copley told the team’s web site.The Capitals are coming off a 5-2 home-ice victory over the Vegas Golden Knights in a Stanley Cup rematch Wednesday night. Washington already has 18 goals through the season’s first three games.Alex Ovechkin scored a pair against the Golden Knights, giving him four goals on the season. His 611 career goals move Ovechkin past Bobby Hull for 17th place on the NHL’s all-time list.Ovechkin’s teammate T.J. Oshie also netted his fourth goal; and both players have scored goals in all three games, so far.The No. 1 Caps star on Wednesday, though Toronto Maple Leafs Hats Authentic , was Evgeny Kuznetsov, who had four points with a goal and three assists.“He’s my favorite player to watch play in the NHL,” Capitals center Nicklas Backstrom told NBCSN. “He’s just dancing out there.”The Devils beat the Capitals only once at the Prudential Center the past four seasons; and last year Washington won three of four games overall with New Jersey’s only win being an overtime victory on home ice. WINNIPEG, Manitoba (AP) — All that Winnipeg firepower was on full display Tuesday night.Blake Wheeler had a goal and three assists as the Jets scored on 33 percent of their shots in a 7-4 victory over the Colorado Avalanche.Mathieu Perreault, Kyle Connor, Bryan Little, Andrew Copp, Mark Scheifele and Jacob Trouba also scored for Winnipeg, which converted three of four power-play opportunities. Trouba, Scheifele and Tyler Myers each had two assists.“I think we like what we can do offensively,” Wheeler said. “So there’s going to be nights where we pour it on and their goalie plays well. And there’s going to be nights where we get a few and make the most of our chances.”Gabriel Landeskog scored twice and set a career high with his 27th goal for Colorado. Carl Soderberg had a goal and an assist, and Ryan Graves also scored. Nathan MacKinnon and Tyson Barrie each contributed two assists.Connor Hellebuyck made 37 saves for the Jets, who have won two straight and improved to 3-3 in their last six games.“That was pretty fun,” Scheifele said about the wide-open game. “I’m sure the fans loved it. I’m good with it.”Philipp Grubauer stopped 14 shots for Colorado Custom Toronto Maple Leafs Jerseys , which ended a six-game skid with a 6-1 win over the Rangers on Friday.The Jets scored three times on the power play and once short-handed to lead 4-3 after the second period. They led 4-1 early in the second, but the Avalanche scored twice late in the period.“We always say we have good character, but (we don’t) really care right now,” Colorado forward Mikko Rantanen said. “It’s two points that we care about. It’s nice to have a good character, but if you can’t win, it’s tough. So we just have to focus on winning.”Copp scored at 3:59 of the third and Scheifele made it 6-3 after Wheeler intercepted a pass and sent the puck to him on a breakaway. Scheifele’s shot hit Grubauer, the puck flew up and Scheifele swatted it into the net at 11:12 for his 23rd of the season.Landeskog scored with just more than three minutes remaining.Trouba scored into an empty net on the power play with 1:06 left.“We have to stay positive, even if we’ve been losing a lot,” Soderberg said. “It’s still a new game tomorrow and I think we played pretty good. Take that with us and battle even harder tomorrow.”NOTES: MacKinnon extended his point streak to seven games (four goals, six assists). … Barrie is on a five-game point streak, with one goal and seven assists.UP NEXTAvalanche: Continue their five-game trip to Canada in Calgary on Wednesday night.Jets: Play at Minnesota on Thursday night.