Game #41
Buffalo Sabres (14-21-5) vs. Washington Capitals (26-10-3)
Puck Drop: 7:00 PM EDT | KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG-B, NHLN
Know Your Opponent
Washington Capitals
Record: 26-10-3 | 55 PTS
Last Game: 7-4 win over the Rangers
Division Ranking: 1st, Metropolitan
PP: 11th, 23.5% (27/115 opps) [Sabres: 23rd, 17.9% (20/112 opps)]
PK: 4th, 84.2% (101/120 killed) [Sabres: 20th, 78.2% (97/124 killed)]
What to Watch
1. Halfway Point
We’re at the halfway point of the season and already fans are tuning out. To be fair, they’re doing so because it also looks like some of the players are tuning out too and already making golfing plans and booking summer vacations.
A recent report indicated the Sabres have the second-lowest game attendance in the league and it’s really no surprise. The on-ice product continues to be substandard and it’s hard to see how the fans can be won back over when the stench that is emanating from this team is casting a pall over the whole downtown.
Even with a win tonight, the Sabres will need about 55-60 points in the back half of the season to make it to the playoffs, something like a 27-8-6 record.
2. No Ovie, No Problem
There were many who thought this was the year the Capitals would drop out of the playoff ranks, and that was before Alexander Ovechkin went out injured.
Instead, Washington has transformed itself into a very useful team that is cruising at the top of the Metropolitan division and in very good stead to get Ovie to his Holy Grail of beating Wayne Gretzky’s scoring record.
Ovechkin scored his 872nd NHL goal on Saturday to move within 23 of Gretzky’s all-time mark, and since recovering from his fractured left fibula has scored in four of the five games he’s played. While he likely won’t get all 23 tonight, he’s probably good for one or two against the Sabres.
3. What Now For Buffalo?
The Sabres are in a strange place right now. Lindy Ruff already looks frustrated and you can only imagine he is regretting his choice to return here. General Manager Kevyn Adams is going to have to make a move sooner than later, either bringing in a fresh face to spark things, or shipping some usual suspects out to send a message. Ideally both.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Jason Zucker – Dylan Cozens – Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Peyton Krebs
Jack Quinn – Sam Lafferty – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Defense
Rasmus Dahlin – Bowen Byram
Owen Power – Connor Clifton
Mattias Samuelsson – Henri Jokiharju
Goalies: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (projected starter), James Reimer
Washington Capitals
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Taylor Raddysh
Aliaksei Protas – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
Lars Eller – Connor McMichael – Jakub Vrana
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Andrew Mangiapane
Defense
Rasmus Sandin – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Matt Roy
Martin Fehervary – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Goalies:
Logan Thompson (projected starter), Charlie Lindgren