Game #60
Buffalo Sabres (17-31-11) vs. Washington Capitals (33-18-7)
Season Series: 1-0 Sabres
11a/7: Sabres 3 | Capitals 1 (recap)
Puck drop: 3:00 p.m. EST | KeyBank Center | Buffalo, NY
TV: MSG
Radio: WGR 550
SB Nation Capitals blog: Japers Rink
What to Watch
1. Afternoon Struggles
The Sabres have struggled all season in afternoon games. They’re 0-6 this season in games that have started before 7 PM EST. They have four more afternoon games on the schedule including today.
2. Rebound
Last time the Sabres were dominated on home ice they responded with a three-game winning streak in Western Canada. We’ll see how they respond to an awful performance against the Los Angeles Kings on Saturday.
3. Ullmark Recalled
Linus Ullmark was recalled from the Rochester Americans this morning. Robin Lehner is out day-to-day with a lower-body injury. I would expect Chad Johnson to be the starter today and Ullmark to return to Rochester once Lehner is healthy.
Know Your Opponent
1. Another desperate hockey team.
Like the Kings on Saturday, the Capitals come into today’s game desperate for points. They’ve lost three of their last four including an embarrassing 7-1 loss at the hands of the Chicago Blackhawks on Saturday. If the Sabres are not ready to play we could see a repeat of the game from the weekend.
2. Still Got It
It’s easy to forget that Alex Ovechkin is still the most dangerous goal scorer in the NHL. He has 34 goals this season which leads the NHL and 65 points in 58 games.
Projected Lineup (unconfirmed)
9 Evander Kane – 90 Ryan O’Reilly – 23 Sam Reinhart
67 Benoit Pouliot – 71 Evan Rodrigues – 21 Kyle Okposo
20 Scott Wilson – 22 Johan Larsson – 29 Jason Pominville
28 Zemgus Girgensons – 10 Jacob Josefson – 13 Nick Baptiste
82 Nathan Beaulieu – 55 Ramsus Ristolainen
6 Marco Scandella – 8 Casey Nelson
41 Justin Falk – 93 Victor Antipin
Starting Goaltender: 31 Chad Johnson