Game #76

Buffalo Sabres (35-35-5) vs. Washington Capitals (36-27-10)

Puck Drop: 7:00 PM ET | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY

TV: MSG

Radio: WGR-550

Know Your Opponent

Washington Capitals

Record: 36-27-10

Last Game: 3-2 loss to the Boston Bruins

Division Ranking: 4th, Metropolitan

PP: 21.0% (17th)

PK: 79.4% (19th)

What To Watch For

1. There’s Something About Jeff

Tonight’s game will be the 1,000th of Jeff Skinner’s NHL career, a feat the Sabres have and will be celebrating appropriately. After playing the first 579 games of his career with the Carolina Hurricanes, Skinner joined the Sabres in 2018 and has appeared in 420 games with the team.

Looking for a way to kill some time before puck drop? Here’s all the Skinner content the Sabres have put out recently:

2. The Great #8

Not that anyone could ever forget him, but Alex Ovechkin will be a test for the Sabres tonight as he continues to show off his offensive prowess and grow ever-closer to Wayne Gretzky’s record. Ovechkin has 66 points, including 41 goals, in 63 games against the Sabres.

This season, Ovechkin has 58 points (26-32) in 70 games, including four game-winners.

Projected Lineups

Buffalo Sabres

Forwards

JJ Peterka – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch
Zach Benson – Dylan Cozens – Jack Quinn
Jeff Skinner – Peyton Krebs – Lukas Rousek
Eric Robinson – Zemgus Girgensons – Victor Olofsson

Defense

Owen Power – Rasmus Dahlin
Bowen Byram – Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson – Connor Clifton

Goaltenders: Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (projected starter), Devon Levi

Washington Capitals

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin – Connor McMichael – Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Ivan Miroshnichenko – Dylan Strome – Aliaksei Protas
Max Pacioretty – Hendrix Lapierre – Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn – Nic Dowd – Vincent Iorio

Defense

Martin Fehervary – John Carlson
Rasmus Sandin – Nick Jensen
Alexander Alexeyev – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Goaltenders: Charlie Lindgren, Darcy Kuemper

Game #76 Preview & Open Thread: Sabres vs. Capitals