The Washington Capitals end a three-game Northeastern road trip against the Buffalo Sabres on Monday. It is the second of three meetings between the Eastern Conference teams. Washington beat Buffalo by a score of 6-1 on November 1 at Capital One Arena. Puck drop from KeyBank Center is set for 7 PM ET on NBC Sports Washington.
Capitals
Standings: 41-20-7 (89 points) | first in the Metropolitan Division, fourth overall
Last Game: 5-2 win over the Pittsburgh Penguins at PPG Paints Arena on Saturday
Goal Leader: Captain Alex Ovechkin (47)
Assist Leader: Defenseman John Carlson (60)
Point Leader: Carlson (75)
Starting Goaltender: It could likely be Ilya Samsonov, who has posted a record of 16-6-2 thus for. Samsonov has 2.55 goals-against average, a .913 save percentage and 1 shutout.
Power-Play: 19.5% (17th) | Ovechkin leads with 13 power-play goals.
Penalty Kill: 82.8% (5th) | Forward Tom Wilson leads with 93 penalty minutes.
Essential Notes: The Capitals’ much-needed victory over the Penguins was one of their best performances in a while. They’ve lost three out of their last six games and have gone 6-8-2 since the beginning of February. Washington has not been firing on all cylinders and with one month left before the start of the playoffs, the team will have to start dominating in March, especially against high-stake divisional teams like Pittsburgh and the red-hot Philadelphia Flyers.
Sabres
Standings: 29-31-8 (66 points) | sixth in the Atlantic Division, 26th overall
Last Game: 3-1 loss to the Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday
Goal Leader: Captain Jack Eichel (35)
Assist Leader: Eichel (42)
Point Leader: Eichel (77)
Starting Goaltender: It could likely be Carter Hutton, who has posted a record of 12-14-4 thus far. Hutton has 3.18 goals-against average, a .898 save percentage, and two shutouts.
Power-Play: 18.6% (19th) | Victor Olofsson leads with 11 power-play goals.
Penalty Kill: 74.5% (31st) | Defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen leads with 46 penalty minutes.
Essential Notes: Riding a six-game losing streak, the Sabres have only scored two goals or less in seven straight games. Buffalo has gone 7-10-0 since the beginning of February. Line changes have helped their struggling offense, which has hindered the team most of the season. The Sabres have a home record of 19-11-4.
By Della Young
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