Capitals vs. Devils Preview: To Trap or Not to Trap?

In the midst of all the madness, tonight's NHL tilt between two of the Eastern Conference's hottest teams will definitely be on the radar of many sports fans.

Both the Washington Capitals and New Jersey Devils have been incredible stories this season. The two teams have had to overcome as many obstacles as any team in the league, and both have really built strong team character in the second half of the season. One of the more outstanding features of this matchup is that the Caps and Devils are, without a doubt, the two best defensive teams in the league, and they have taken their defensive styles to unseen measures.

Not only have games involving either one of these teams been nearly virtual locks on unders in game totals to sports bettors during the second half of this season, both franchises have also been able to successfully transform their purely offensive-minded Russian snipers into two way players.

Any true hockey fan should definitely be curious as to what type of game we will see tonight in Newark.

Let's start with the Washington Capitals, who have completely transformed their style of play over this past year. This team was an absolute offensive juggernaut last season, and was seen as a club that was completely reliant on scoring goals. Even their star defenseman, Mike Green, was putting up superstar forward-like numbers. The Caps were then criticized for an absence of a true defense and a lack of solid goaltending.

This year, however, the team has taken a completely opposite approach. The Caps have been keeping games low-scoring consistently throughout the season, and have seen some of their top players' numbers drop drastically. Unders in game totals involving Washington games have been a goldmine to sports bettors and handicappers, for in 71 games so far, 52 have stayed under Vegas' given game total.

Alexander Ovechkin, Niklas Backstrom, Alexander Semin and several other players who previously focused their energy fully on scoring have found themselves adjusting to a more defensive game this year. The Capitals have also been getting stellar netminding from three different goalies. Micheal Neuvirth is expected to start tonight.

The Devils, on the other hand, have always been notorious for their trap style of defense, and with the midseason acquisition of head coach Jacques Lemaire (also known as the "Father of the Trap"), it was only a matter of time that New Jersey would return to the system.

The Devils' tendency to keep game totals to two or three goals has been absolutely astonishing. In New Jersey's last 18 games, only one had more than a total of five goals scored. Regardless of who is in net (Martin Brodeur is probable), it can be expected that shots will be forced to the outsides, which makes a goaltender's job much easier.

It will be very interesting to see how this game turns out in terms of whether this game will be higher scoring or lower scoring. It is clear that both teams cannot rely on winning solely by engaging the trap the entire game against each other. In this case, all it will take is one goal to make the other team panic.

Clearly, one of these teams will have to break out of their comfort zone and be more aggressive, and this is where the Russian snipers might have to retain to their former selves for the night. This game could very possibly come down to Ovy versus Kovy. Lately, the two superstars appear to be catching some fire, but will it be enough to completely bring the scoring lines out of hibernation?

Or will the 6,000 fans at the Prudential Center be an indication that this will be another snoozefest? I guess we will find out.