The Washington Capitals may be looking for their third straight win, but their victories this past week have been far from pretty. They’ll likely look for a more secure win Friday when they take on the Buffalo Sabres, who they defeated in overtime fashion Monday.
With a win Friday, Washington will re-tie Philadelphia for third in the Metropolitan division and be separated from the division lead by just two points.
Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres
First Niagara Center – 7 p.m. EST
Broadcast channels – CSNMA, MSGB
2016-17 Season Series:
Nov. 25- Capitals 3 Sabres 1
Dec. 1 – Capitals 2 Sabres 1 (OT)
Washington Capitals – 15-7-3, 33 Points
Away Record: 5-3-3
Hot Players: Nicklas Backstrom, Marcus Johansson, Justin Williams
Key Injuries: Matt Niskanen (Upper-body)
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Marcus Johansson-Nicklas Backstrom-T.J. Oshie
Alex Ovechkin-Evgeny Kuznetsov-Justin Williams
Andre Burakovsky-Lars Eller-Jakub Vrana
Daniel Winnik-Jay Beagle-Tom Wilson
Defense
Karl Alzner-John Carlson
Brooks Orpik-Dmitry Orlov
Nate Schmidt-Taylor Chorney
Goaltender
Philipp Grubauer
[irp]
Buffalo Sabres – 10-10-6, 26 Points
Home Record: 5-5-3
Hot Players: Kyle Okposo, Rasmus Ristolainen, Ryan O’Reilly, Jack Eichel
Key Injuries: Cody McCormick, Taylor Fedun, Nicolas Deslauriers, Zach Bogosian, Tyler Ennis
Projected Lines:
Forwards
Brian Gionta-Ryan O’Reilly-Kyle Okposo
Evander Kane-Jack Eichel-Same Reinhart
Will Carrier-Johan Larsson-Marcus Foligno
Matt Moulson-Derek Grant-Zemgus Girgensons
Defense
Jake McCabe-Rasmus Ristolainen
Dmitry Kulikov-Cody Franson
Josh Gorges-Justin Falk
Goaltender
Robin Lehner
Game Notes
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]1)[/miptheme_dropcap]The Capitals will have to go without defenseman Matt Niskanen when they take on Buffalo Friday. Niskanen was injured in Washington’s 4-3 overtime win over Boston and was evaluated on Thursday. He has an upper-body injury, but it doesn’t seem long-term. Therefore, Washington recalled Aaron Ness in the meantime, but Taylor Chorney will likely dress over him.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]2)[/miptheme_dropcap]Washington’s power-play struggles continued against the Bruins, and they went 0-for-2 on the man advantage in the eventual overtime win. With Buffalo having the second-worst penalty kill in the league (75.6 percent success rate), the Capitals are going to have to make the most of their opportunities. In their last two games against the Sabres, Washington has put up at least one power-play goal, so expect them to be able to get something going on the man advantage.
PP2 without Niskanen: 14, 65, 13, 92, 9. Caps usually go with two D on second power play, but Burakovsky is back in.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 9, 2016
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]3) [/miptheme_dropcap]With three goals in two games against the Sabres this season, Marcus Johansson will likely provide some offense Friday. Daniel Winnik has also been known to be dangerous against Buffalo, scoring a goal and assist in the season series against the Sabres.
[miptheme_dropcap style=”normal” color=”#222222″ background=””]4)[/miptheme_dropcap]After a rough go-of-it for Holtby Wednesday, Philipp Grubauer will get the nod Friday. Grubauer was outstanding in his start against Buffalo back in November, stopping 32 of 33 shots and earning first-star honors. The German netminder has outstanding career numbers against the Sabres, going 1-0-2 and boasting a 1.08 GAA and .957 save mark. He will need to provide heroics again and stand tall against the offensive likes of Eichel, Okposo and O’Reilly.
Grubauer in the starter's net at Caps' skate.
— Isabelle Khurshudyan (@ikhurshudyan) December 9, 2016
Washington needs to treat every game going forward as if it’s the last one of the season. With a win Friday, the Capitals can go from seventh in the Eastern Conference to fourth (tied with PHI). This will help secure two points that are imperative considering how close the Eastern Conference standings are.
To escape Buffalo with a victory, the Capitals need momentum straight from the get-go, and can’t get lazy when they have a lead. They surrendered a three-goal lead against the Bruins Wednesday and waited until the remaining minutes of regulation to add some urgency. Against the Sabres, Washington needs to maintain possession, kept the pressure on in the offensive zone and get pucks on net.
