Capitals at Sabres
First-year coach Phil Housley is not overreacting to his team’s early-season struggles and is hoping that approach will help the Buffalo Sabres find their form as they host the Washington Capitals on Tuesday. The Sabres have dropped three of their last four games while allowing a total of 17 goals and share last place in the Atlantic Division with Florida.
“I tend to look at things in a different perspective, just as a former player and now a coach,” Housley told the Buffalo News. “It’s easy to be a master of obvious and really hammer the nail. I try to put the players in a position to succeed. We’re going to still hold the players accountable - believe me.” The Sabres allowed just 22 shots in a 5-1 loss at Dallas on Saturday to split a two-game road trip and face a Washington team that is starting to find itself with four wins in five contests after a 3-2 overtime victory over Arizona on Monday. Defenseman John Carlson tallied in the extra session for his first goal of the season as the Capitals moved two games over .500 (8-6-1) for the first time in more than two weeks. Washington's Evgeny Kuznetsov notched a pair of assists on Monday to reach 200 points in his career and take over the team lead with 18.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, NBCSN, NBCSN Washington Plus
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (8-6-1): Captain Alex Ovechkin scored for the second straight game Monday to push his season total to 12 goals after going scoreless for five consecutive contests. Nicklas Backstrom, who recorded 23 goals and 86 points last season, has gone six games without a point despite recording four shots in Monday’s victory, while Devante Smith-Pelley netted his second tally of the campaign. Lars Eller notched an assist in the win over Arizona, giving him five points in three games this month and eight in his last seven contests.
ABOUT THE SABRES (4-8-2): Buffalo is starting to get healthier on defense but may not get any of its four injured blue-liners back for the matchup against the Capitals. Rasmus Ristolainen (upper body) missed the last game and is day-to-day while Josh Gorges (lower body), Zach Bogosian (lower body) and Nathan Beaulieu (upper body) are skating and on the road to recovery. Evander Kane tops the team with seven goals and shares the lead in points (13) with Jack Eichel, who has not scored in five straight games.
OVERTIME
1. The Capitals have won seven of the last eight meetings, including all three matchups in 2016-17 by a combined 10-4 score.
2. The Sabres and Capitals both are 1-for-21 on the power play over their last seven contests.
3. Washington G Braden Holtby posted his eighth victory of the season Monday, leaving him one shy of 200 for his career.