Buffalo at Washington Series Preview: Capitals Begin Six-Game Home Stand With Clash Against Sabres

Photo: Nick Wass/AP

The Washington Capitals begin a six-game home stand at Capital One Arena, hosting the Buffalo Sabres on Friday (7:00 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington) and Sunday (3:00 PM ET, NBC Sports Washington). The Capitals defeated the Sabres 6-4 on January 14 and 2-1 the following night at KeyBank Center.

Sabres

Last Game: 3-0 loss to the Philadelphia Flyers on Tuesday at Wells Fargo Center

Standings: 1-3-0 (2 points) | eighth in the MassMutual East Division, 29th overall

Goal Leader: Forwards Sam Reinhart and Victor Olofsson and center Curtis Lazar have each scored two goals.

Assist Leader: Captain Jack Eichel (6)

Point Leader: Eichel (6) and forward Taylor Hall (6)

Goaltenders: According to head coach Ralph Krueger, Carter Hutton is day-to-day after taking an elbow to the head from Flyers defenseman Ivan Provorov on Tuesday. He did not participate in today’s practice and will not make the trip to Washington.

Meanwhile, Linus Ullmark practiced with the team after missing the last two games following the unexpected passing of his father. Jonas Johansson will be an additional goaltender, and Dustin Tokarski will also travel after being recalled to the taxi squad.

Power-Play: 20% (14th) | Hall, Reinhart, and Olofsson have each recorded a power-play goal.

Penalty Kill: 80% (17th) | Defenseman Jake McCabe leads with five penalty minutes.

Essential Notes: Forward Kyle Okposo practiced with the team for the first time after missing the first four games with a lower-body injury he sustained during the Sabres’ intrasquad scrimmage on January 10. He will travel with the team to Washington.

Capitals

Last Game: 5-4 overtime loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday at PPG Paints Arena

Standings: 2-0-2 (6 points) | second in the MassMutual East Division, 4th overall

Goal Leader: Forward Tom Wilson (3)

Assist Leader: Captain Alex Ovechkin (4)

Point Leader: Wilson (5)

Goaltenders: Thursday morning, Craig Anderson was added to the Capitals roster in the absence of Ilya Samsonov, who was added to the league’s COVID-19-related absences list and tested positive for the virus. Vitek Vanecek is likely to get the start. The 25-year-old netminder has gone 1-0-1 in two games played, has a .902 save percentage, and has 2.97 goals-against average.

Power-Play: 25% (12th) | Center Nicklas Backstrom and forward T.J. Oshie have each recorded one power-play goal.

Penalty Kill: 81.3% (15th) | Defenseman Brenden Dillon leads with 9 penalty minutes.

Essential Notes: The Capitals are looking for a solid win Friday night after two losses to the Penguins during a four-game road trip to start the season. With key players out of the lineup, it is possible we will see some taxi squad players slotting in. Prospect Connor McMichael joined the taxi squad on Thursday and had his first practice with the team. McMichael, Anderson, defenseman Martin Fehervary, and center Brian Pinho skated with the NHL group this morning.

Washington Capitals Game Notes

By Della Young