Capitals at Sabres
Washington Capitals forward Marcus Johansson has decimated the Buffalo Sabres en route to recording six points in his last six games overall. After skewering the Sabres with a goal in the Capitals' 3-1 win on Nov. 25 and netting the tying tally in the third period and overtime-winner earlier this week, Johansson looks for an encore on Friday in Buffalo in the finale of the teams' three-game season series.
The 26-year-old Swede notched an assist on Wednesday as Washington posted its second straight win with a 4-3 overtime victory over Boston. The Capitals were not thrilled with squandering a three-goal lead before Nicklas Backstrom's overtime heroics, electing to hold a closed-door, players' only meeting to tie up loose ends. While Washington attempts to get on the same page, Buffalo's line of Jack Eichel, Evander Kane and Sam Reinhart have been doing quite nicely since Eichel's return from a 21-game absence due to an ankle injury. The line has combined for seven goals and 14 points in five contests, with Buffalo improving to 3-1-1 in that stretch following Tuesday's 4-3 overtime victory over Edmonton.
TV: 7 p.m. ET, CSN Mid-Atlantic (Washington), MSG-B (Buffalo)
ABOUT THE CAPITALS (15-7-3): Washington defenseman Matt Niskanen will see his consecutive games streak end at 189 on Friday as he will not travel with the team to Buffalo due to an upper-body injury. Niskanen sustained the injury after careening face-first into the boards following a hit from Bruins center Patrice Bergeron in the first period. "He took a big hit and he's an important piece for us," coach Barry Trotz told Monumental Sports Network. "Credit to our (defense); they were under siege for two periods when we went to five (defensemen), and they battled real hard. So that group of five, I give them a lot of credit for battling through that."
ABOUT THE SABRES (10-10-6): Kane has been providing both highs (three goals) and lows (three penalties) for Buffalo over the last three games, with the infractions proving costly on both Monday and Tuesday. Buffalo yielded power-play goals to change the momentum of both contests, although Kane made amends against the Oilers in overtime with his second goal of the night to give him five points in his last five games after notching just two (both assists) in his previous 10. While Kane's offensive jolt is nice, Buffalo has permitted a power-play goal in eight of its last 11 games and is second-to-last on the penalty kill at 75.6 percent.
OVERTIME
1. Reigning Vezina Trophy winner Braden Holtby made 31 saves in Monday's 3-2 victory over Buffalo to improve his career mark to 8-3-1 with one shutout versus the Sabres.
2. Buffalo's Dmitry Kulikov is expected to return Friday following a 13-game absence with a back injury while fellow D Josh Gorges has a chance to play despite dealing with a non-displaced fracture in his foot.
3. Niskanen's injury forced the Capitals to reach out to Hershey of the American Hockey League and recall 26-year-old Aaron Ness, who played in eight games with Washington last season.