Washington, D.C. (WGR 550) – The Buffalo Sabres got back to winning on Sunday in Chicago against the Blackhawks, but they’ll likely have a tougher game Wednesday in Washington against the Capitals.
Washington has won four-straight games and have earned points in six contests in-a-row. Since starting the season 1-3-1, the Caps have gone 8-1-1.
Washington has scored four goals in three out of four games, and in those four games have only given up six.
A big part of this resurgence has been in goal with Charlie Lindgren.
Lindgren was a free agent signed out of St. Cloud State University by the Montreal Canadiens. He then went on to play five games with the St. Louis Blues before landing in Washington last season, playing 31 of his 65 NHL games with the Capitals.
Lindgren has played in four of the last six games for the ineffective Darcy Kuemper, and is 4-0-0 with a 1.51 goals-against average and a .955 save percentage.
Alex Ovechkin is Washington’s leading scorer with five goals and seven assists for 12 points, but that’s way below what we’re used to seeing from him.
T.J. Oshie has also played 15 games and has no goals and one assist.
It’s amazing Washington has done what it’s done, because they’re the second-worst scoring team in the NHL at 2.47 goals per-game. Defensively, Washington is sixth.
The Capitals have the worst power play unit in the NHL at 7%, and are 11th in penalty killing.
Nick Backstrom is taking some time off from hockey, likely to sit out the rest of the season, while Max Pacioretty has missed the season so far with injury.
Washington is 7-1-2 in its last 10 home games against the Sabres. Overall, Buffalo is 2-0-3 in its last five against the Capitals.
Buffalo will have Devon Levi in goal on Friday. The rookie has won two of his last three starts, but he’s also given up 11 goals in those three games.
Back on Nov. 10 against the Minnesota Wild, Levi stopped 33-of-35 shots and was the main reason Buffalo won.
Overall, Levi is 3-4-0 this season with a 3.65 goals-against average and an .881 save percentage.
Goal scoring is also Buffalo’s problem this season, as the Sabres haven’t scored more than three goals in six games.
One thing that hasn’t been a problem for the Sabres is Rasmus Dahlin.
The All-Star defenseman has been a beast in the last four periods, stepping up what was already a good game. Dahlin was in on all three Buffalo goals in Chicago, and is the Sabres' leading scorer at four goals and 11 assists for 15 points in 18 games.
Jeff Skinner leads the team with eight goals, while JJ Peterka has seven.
Zach Benson has no goals and four assists in his eight games played this season. If he plays in Washington, he’ll be up to nine games, which leaves general manager Kevyn Adams with a decision to make: To keep him in Buffalo or send him back to juniors.
Buffalo did get a power play goal on Sunday, and is 7-for-7 in the last two games on the penalty kill.
Dylan Cozens was wearing a different face shield in the morning skate. He had been wearing a full plastic shield, now the top half is plastic and the bottom half is a cage.
Sabres head coach Don Granato is dressing seven defensemen, which means Peyton Krebs is the healthy scratch.
Jack Quinn did another rehab skate, and then stayed on the ice and participated in the morning skate. He said his surgeon told him he’d have him back by January, and Quinn says he feels he’s on pace for that.
Quinn hopes to be back at practice in a few weeks.
With a points percentage of .472, Buffalo is still the third-worst team in the Eastern Conference. However, they’re only three points out of a playoff spot that’s currently being held by the Carolina Hurricanes.
Join Schopp and the Bulldog for pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. EST when you’ll hear from Granato, Benson and Quinn.
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