Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR Sports Radio 550) - Just two days after losing to the NHL’s No. 1 team, the Vegas Golden Knights, in Las Vegas, the Buffalo Sabres are back home to play the No. 2 team in the league, the Washington Capitals.
Washington has a points percentage of .705
The Sabres continue to self-destruct after having a small taste of success. After a three-game winning streak, the Sabres are, once again, on a three-game losing streak.
In these three losses, they’ve given up 13 goals.
Buffalo spent five games defending well and getting great goaltending, but that all went out the window starting in Colorado, where they blew 3-0 and 5-3 leads to the Avalanche.
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On the positive side, the last time the Sabres gave up a 5-on-4 power play goal was Dec. 21 in Boston. Since then, they’re 11-for-11 at killing 5-on-4 power plays. The only power play goal they’ve given up during that time was a 5-on-3 to Avalanche winger Mikko Rantanen.
The power play has also excelled, going 7-for-16 since that same Bruins game. In the stretch, Buffalo is 3-3-1, which is 17th in the NHL.
That power play percentage of 43% is No. 1, while in six games, the penalty killing of 91.7% is fourth.
Only two teams in the NHL are worse than the Buffalo Sabres: The San Jose Sharks and Chicago Blackhawks.
The Sabres have only won one of its last nine home games.
Washington leads the league, averaging 3.72 goals per-game, and that’s with Alex Ovechkin missing 16 games due to injury.
Ovechkin's 19 goals in 23 games this season still ranks him 11th overall in the league.
The 872 goals scored in Ovechkin's career has him just 22 goals behind Wayne Gretzky for the all-time mark. Gretzky played 1,487 games, while Ovechkin has played 1,449.
I’m a little surprised Jason Zucker wasn’t named one of the NHL’s "Three Stars" for this past week. He was tied for third in league scoring during that time with five goals and six points. His five goals led the NHL for the week.
Zucker had a hat-trick and an assist in Thursday's loss to the Avalanche.
Henri Jokiharju returns to the Buffalo blue line on Monday after being a healthy scratch for six-straight games. Jokiharju has been a healthy scratch 14 times this season, and is likely playing his last season with the Sabres.
Jacob Bryson will miss his second-straight game due to illness, while Beck Malenstyn is also very doubtful to play against Washington due to illness.
Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff says winger Jordan Greenway is back around the team, and has started to work out following surgery to repair a middle-body injury.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen went on a really good run, allowing just five goals in three games. That seems like weeks ago, though, as he’s let in nine goals in two games since.
Overall this season, he’s 11-12-4 with a 3.07 goals-against average and an .894 save percentage.
These two teams met in December in Washington, with the Caps earning a 4-2 win on home ice. Zucker gave Buffalo the lead just 1:36 into the game, and Jiri Kulich tied it at 2-2 midway through the second period.
Washington hasn’t been quite as good lately, winning 3-of-6 and 5-of-10.
Logan Thompson and Charlie Lindgren have alternated in net all season, and Monday will be Lindgren’s turn to face the Sabres. He’s allowed 10 goals in his last three games played.
Overall this year, Lindgren is 10-8-1 with a 2.70 goals-against average and a .900 save percentage.
With Ovechkin out for so long, Dylan Strome is the Caps' leading scorer with 44 points in 39 games.
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MONDAY’S LINES:
Forwards:
Zucker – Cozens – Thompson
Peterka – McLeod – Tuch
Benson – Kulich – Krebs
Quinn – Lafferty – Aube-Kubel
Defense:
Dahlin – Byram
Power – Clifton
Samuelsson – Jokiharju
Tune in during "Schopp and the Bulldog" at 6 p.m. EST for pregame coverage on WGR, where you’ll hear from Ruff, Ryan McLeod and Connor Clifton.