Washington Capitals vs New Jersey Devils Prediction, Odds and Picks for Today, 04/02/26

The New Jersey Devils will be looking to play the spoiler role when they host the Washington Capitals on Thursday night. Whereas Washington is in the Eastern Conference wild-card race, New Jersey is close to being eliminated. Still, the Devils are playing hard and will continue to do so until they are mathematically eliminated — especially with a Metropolitan Division rival coming to town. That is part of the reason why my Capitals vs Devils prediction is for the home team to prevail. New Jersey is 10-5-0 in its last 15 contests. It fell at the Rangers 4-1 on Tuesday but has not lost back-to-back games since March 12. They have lost back-to-back games only once since February 26. The Hughes brothers continue to roll along nicely. Jack had 2 goals and 2 assists in a 5-3 win over Chicago this past Sunday and has produced multiple points in 5 of the last 8 outings; Luke has dished out an assist in 2 straight games.

Washington is on a 3-game winning streak, but it’s worth noting that it has allowed 12 goals during this stretch. Logan Thompson has started 8 consecutive contests and 12 of the last 13, so you have to think fatigue could be a factor. But with his team needing every win it can get, Thompson is expected to mind the net again on Thursday. Devils primary goaltender Jakob Markstrom is the anticipated starter for the home side, but his recent workload has been nowhere near the extent of his counterpart’s. Finally, the Caps are 15-17-4 on the road this season compared to 23-11-5 in Washington. This is a great spot for the Devils to inflict what could be a crippling loss on their division rivals.

Capitals vs Devils prediction: New Jersey ML (-120) available at time of publishing. Playable at that number.