[5:00 PM] Sabres @ Capitals

Who will WIN this matchup?

Buffalo Sabres (7-8-5)

@ Washington Capitals (12-5-2)

 

Starting Goalies:

Robin Lehner (BUF): Unconfirmed

Philipp Grubauer (WSH): Confirmed

 

• It was a flashback to last season on Wednesday as captain Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick and Evgeny Kuznetsov delivered a two-point performance in a victory for the Washington Capitals. The pair of Russians looks to build off its big night when the Capitals host the Buffalo Sabres on Friday in the first of three games between the teams over a 15-day period. It was the first hat trick of the season for Ovechkin (team-high 12 goals) and only the second two-point effort by Kuznetsov, who has struggled after leading the team in scoring in 2015-16.

• Buffalo has shown some signs of improvement with a point streak that reached three games (2-0-1) with Wednesday’s 2-1 shootout loss to Detroit. The Sabres have dropped three straight on the road after beginning the season 4-1-2 away from home and lost four of the last five against Washington.

• Second-year center Jack Eichel (ankle) has begun skating with the team, but there is no timetable for his season debut, and top-pair defenseman Dmitry Kulikov (back) still is day-to-day. The Sabres could use a boost from Evander Kane, who has yet to score a goal in nine games this season while trade rumors swirl around him. Kyle Okposo is the only player with a double-digit point total (12), but Ryan O’Reilly (nine) – who missed five games with an oblique injury before returning to the lineup Wednesday – should change that soon.

• Ovechkin could be warming up after scoring five goals in his last four games and is one power-play tally away from becoming the 18th player in NHL history to record 200. Kuznetsov entered Wednesday’s contest without a point in four games and just two goals and five assists overall after finishing with 20 and 57, respectively, last season. Nicklas Backstrom hopes to continue a hot streak during which he has notched nine points in his last five games for Washington, which has netted 14 tallies in its last four contests after recording just five in the previous four matches.

• The Capitals are third in the league in goals-against average (2.21) while the Sabres rank seventh (2.35).

 

StreakSmarts Pick: Washington Capitals

Confidence: 7/10

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