Buffalo Sabres (30-36-6) vs. Washington Capitals (47-16-9)
Puck Drop: 3:00 PM ET | Capital One Arena | Washington, DC
TV: MSG-B
Radio: WGR 550
Know Your Opponent
Washington Capitals
Record: 47-16-9 | 103 PTS
Division Ranking: 1st in the Metropolitan
Last Game: 4-2 loss to Minnesota
PP: 21.5% (17th) – (Sabres 17.9%, 26th)
PK: 82.7% (3rd) – (Sabres 76.2%, 23rd)
What To Watch
1. The Gr8 Chase
The big story of the season for the Capitals, aside from their obvious success, has been Alexander Ovechkin’s chase to catch & pass Wayne Gretzky for the most goals scored in NHL history. Thankfully, Ovechkin is still six away from passing Gretzky for the record. (I feel for whoever the team is that he does break the record against. Imagine being a part of that piece of history, forever in the record books.)
That said, Ovechkin leads the Caps with 36 goals this season, but Dylan Strome leads the team with 68 points, including a team-high 45 assists. Tom Wilson also has an impressive 31 goals, while Aliaksei Protas is just one shy of 30 on the season.
2. Bounce Back
With James Reimer projected to start in goal, the Sabres will look to get back on track after Saturday’s dreadful loss in Philadelphia. With less than 10 games left in the regular season, can the Sabres finish off this season on a high note?
As an aside, no Eastern Conference team has yet been eliminated from playoff contention. The Sabres, in last place, sit at 66 points and are 11 points back of the New York Rangers. The Rangers, who won last night in San Jose 6-1, are in the final wildcard spot. It’s still anyone’s best guess who will be in those playoff spots when the regular season really ends.
(The disparity in the Western Conference is much wider, with four teams – Seattle, Nashville, Chicago & San Jose – all eliminated. San Jose is a whopping 38 points back of St. Louis, who sits in the second wildcard spot in the West.)
3. Reim Time
James Reimer is projected to get the start for Buffalo, after Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen played Saturday in Philadelphia. Reimer has gone 5-8-2 this season with a 2.94 GAA and .901 save percentage. He’s won each of his last three games.
Projected Lineups
Buffalo Sabres
Forwards
Zach Benson – Jiri Kulich – Tage Thompson
JJ Peterka – Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn
Jason Zucker – Peyton Krebs – Alex Tuch
Beck Malenstyn – Tyson Kozak – Isak Rosen
Defense
Owen Power – Jacob Bernard-Docker
Bowen Byram – Connor Clifton
Mattias Samuelsson – Jacob Bryson
Goaltenders
James Reimer (projected starter), Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Washington Capitals
Forwards
Alex Ovechkin – Dylan Strome – Aliaksei Protas
Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Tom Wilson
Andrew Mangiapane – Lars Eller – Taylor Raddysh
Brandon Duhaime – Nic Dowd – Anthony Beauvillier
Defense
Rasmus Sandin – John Carlson
Jakob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk
Martin Fehervary – Matt Roy
Goaltenders
Charlie Lindgren, Logan Thompson