Capitals at Sabres: Lines, Notes, & How to Watch

The Washington Capitals (32-27-7) finish their quick two-game road trip on Thursday night. They head to Western New York to visit the Buffalo Sabres (40-19-6) at KeyBank Center.

The puck drops at 7:00 p.m. ET.

The Capitals are coming off a 4-1 loss in Philadelphia on Wednesday night. The team’s playoff chances are fading as the remaining game total is now 16.

The Capitals were hoping to string together wins after beating Calgary 7-3 on Monday. On Wednesday, the first period appeared to be a sign that could happen.

Ryan Leonard came through on the power play for the Capitals’ only goal of the game. After that, they had trouble scoring as Philadelphia took advantage.

The Flyers took a 2-1 lead in the middle frame, which was followed by two more tallies in the third to seal it. The Capitals finished the game with only 22 shots.

Now, the Capitals get set to face the hottest team in the NHL, as Buffalo is currently on an eight-game winning streak. These two teams previously met on Nov. 1, where the Sabres won 4-3 in a shootout.

Buffalo had been one of the weakest teams in the league for years. However, the Sabres currently have 86 points, the second-most in the Eastern Conference behind Carolina.

Over the years, the Capitals have struggled to get a win coming out of Western New York. Washington has lost its last five visits to Buffalo (0-3-2), and failed to win there even in the early days of the franchise.

Expected Capitals Lines

Forwards

Alex Ovechkin – Justin Sourdif – Anthony Beauvillier

Connor McMichael – Pierre-Luc Dubois – Ryan Leonard

Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson

Brandon Duhaime – Hendrix Lapierre – Ethen Frank

Defensemen

Rasmus Sandin – Matt Roy

Jakob Chychrun – Trevor van Riemsdyk

Martin Fehervary – Declan Chisholm

Goalies

Charlie Lindgren

Logan Thompson

Expected Sabres Lines

Forwards

Peyton Krebs – Tage Thompson – Alex Tuch

Jason Zucker -Ryan McLeod – Jack Quinn

Noah Ostlund – Josh Norris – Josh Doan

Zach Benson – Sam Carrick – Beck Malenstyn

Defensemen

Matthias Samuelsson – Rasmus Dahlin

Bowen Byram – Owen Power

Logan Stanley – Michael Kesselring

Goalies

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen

Alex Lyon

How to Watch

TV: Monumental Sports Network

Radio: 106.7 The Fan/Caps Radio Network

By Harry Lichtman

Harry Lichtman is an award-winning journalist who covers the Washington Capitals for Sportsnaut. He also contributes to the sites ... More about Harry Lichtman