Washington at Buffalo Preview: Capitals Wrap Up Road Trip With Monday Clash Against Sabres

Photo: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals wrap up a three-game road trip with a stop in Buffalo to take on the Sabres Monday night. The Capitals lead the season series 4-1 with wins on January 14, January 15, January 22, and February 18. The Sabres locked onto a win 5-4 in a shootout on January 24 at Capital One Arena. Puck drop from KeyBank Center is set for 7 PM ET and can be seen on NBC Sports Washington.

Capitals

Last Game: 5-4 win over the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Saturday

Standings: 17-6-4 (38 points) | second in the MassMutual East Division, sixth overall

Goal Leader: Center Nicklas Backstrom (10)

Assist Leader: Backstrom (20)

Point Leader: Backstrom (30)

Goaltenders: Ilya Samsonov has gone 5-0-1 in seven games played. He has a .902 save percentage and 2.77 goals-against average. In twenty games played, Vitek Vanecek has gone 11-5-3, has a .904 save percentage, and 2.88 goals-against average.

Power-Play: 26.9% (6th) | Forward T.J. Oshie leads with 5 power-play goals.

Penalty Kill: 81.4% (11th) | Defenseman Brenden Dillon leads with 27 penalty minutes.

Essential Notes: Center Lars Eller had 1:29 worth of ice time during Saturday’s game before leaving the first period with a lower-body injury. He is day-to-day, according to head coach Peter Laviolette. The Capitals continue with the absence of forward Tom Wilson, who is serving a seven-game suspension.

Sabres

Last Game: 3-0 loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at KeyBank Center on Saturday

Standings: 6-16-4 (16 points) | eighth in the MassMutual East Division, thirty-first overall

Goal Leader: Forward Sam Reinhart (11)

Assist Leader: Center Jack Eichel (16)

Point Leader: Reinhart (19)

Goaltenders: Linus Ullmark, who has faced the Capitals four times this season, has gone 5-4-1 in twelve games played. He has a .919 save percentage and 2.44 goals-against average. In ten games played, Carter Hutton has gone 1-8-1, has a .893 save percentage, and 3.15 goals-against average.

Power-Play: 27.1% (5th) | Forward Victor Olofsson leads with 6 power-play goals.

Penalty Kill: 79.7% (14th) | Forward Taylor Hall leads with 20 penalty minutes.

Essential Notes: The Sabres are riding a ten-game losing streak, having not won a game since February 23 — a 4-1 victory over the New Jersey Devils. Monday’s game against the Capitals wraps up a three-game homestand before the Sabres take a trip to Newark, New Jersey, to faceoff against the Devils on Tuesday.

Advanced Stats

Over the last five games, the Sabres have dominated in Corsi For (CF% [shot attempts]), scoring chances (SCF%), and expected goals for (xGF%). (Click to enlarge)