Sabres at Capitals
The white-hot Washington Capitals go for their ninth consecutive victory and look to complete a home-and-home sweep when they host the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday night. Washington, which also had put together winning streaks of six and five games this season, blanked the Sabres 2-0 in Buffalo on Monday night to improve to 15-1-1 in its last 17 contests.
Captain Alex Ovechkin provided the only goal the Capitals would need in improving to 7-1-2 in the last 10 matchups against the Sabres. Braden Holtby made 31 saves to record his second shutout of the season and league-best 23rd victory. It marked the second shutout in five games for Buffalo, which is 4-2-1 in its last seven contests following a three-game skid. The power play continues to stall for the Sabres, failing on three chances Monday to drop to 0-for-17 over the past six games.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, MSG Buffalo, CSN Washington
ABOUT THE SABRES (15-17-4): Starting netminder Robin Lehner practiced Tuesday for the first time since sustaining a high-ankle sprain in the season opener on Oct. 8 and is moving closer to a rehab stint in the minors. Forward Nicolas Deslauriers drew the ire of the Capitals with a hard hit on forward Justin Williams before injuring the arm of Michael Latta following a fight and celebrating en route to the penalty box, prompting talk of retaliation in the rematch. “We’ll just see," Deslauriers said. "I’m here to play hockey. I’m not here to fight every single game. We’ll try to get a win down there.”
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (27-6-2): Holtby is in the midst of a spectacular stretch, going 15-0-1 in his last 17 appearances dating to his last regulation loss on Nov. 10 - a 1-0 setback at Detroit. "The goaltending is 75 percent of the team, or 80 percent," Ovechkin said of Holtby, who owns an NHL-leading 1.85 goals-against average. "We knew he's good. He's our best player and probably the best goalie in the league right now." After converting on 5-of-7 chances on the power play in wins over Tampa Bay and the New York Rangers, the Capitals have come up empty their last five man-advantage opportunities.
OVERTIME
1. Ovechkin has 24 goals and 39 points in 37 games against Buffalo.
2. The Sabres have permitted the opening goal in 22 of their last 26 games.
3. Holtby is 6-2-1 with a 2.56 GAA versus Buffalo.