Hello All,

The game against the Buffalo Sabres was expected to be a relatively easy game for the Capitals with Jack Eichel out for the Sabes and Buffalo reeling at 10 straight losses. Well, it turned out to be just that and some. Not only was it easy, but the Capitals absolutely throttled the struggling Sabres. These two franchises are going in different directions on the ice. Washington has won five in a row and is 11-2-1 in their last 14 games. Buffalo on the other hand has now lost 11 in a row. This Buffalo team is in a way different than the team than the reasonably competitive team we saw at the beginning of the season for the Capitals first four of six games.

Here are the stats from the game:


Shots on Goal:

WSH – 30

BUF – 23


Shots on Goal (5v5):

WSH – 26

BUF – 22


Faceoff %:

WSH – 55.8%

BUF – 44.2%


Power Play:

WSH – 0/2

BUF – 0/1


Hits:

WSH – 5

BUF - 9


Blocks:

WSH – 14

BUF – 9


Scoring Chances For:

WSH – 21

BUF – 23

*Caps held 17-9 advantage through two periods and up 4-0



Scoring Chances For (5v5):

WSH – 17

BUF – 23

*Caps held 14-9 advantage through two periods and up 4-0


High Danger Chances For:

WSH – 5

BUF – 11


High Danger Chances For: (5v5):

WSH – 5

BUF – 11

Giveaways:

WSH - 9

BUF - 5


My Takeaways from the Game:

Vitek Vanecek – FINALLY Vitek Vanecek got the shutout he so badly deserved. Vitek Vanecek has held a third period shutout three separate times this season but could never find a way to hold on for his first career shutout. The Sabres didn’t make it easy in the third but Vanecek was able to get his first career NHL shutout. Well done, Vanny! Both goalies for the Capitals seem to be playing relatively strong hockey as of late. Both are very deserving of 1A duties. Even though Vanecek has for the most part proved he can be the Capitals ride or die goalie this season, I still think Laviolette and staff will use Samsonov more as the trade deadline approaches. We need to see a larger sample size of Samsonov and from there, Capitals management can make a more educated decision on whether they need to pursue a goaltender at the trade deadline. There are rumors Lundqvist could be back but I don’t buy that for a second. Maybe I will throw a poll up here later this week.

Buffalo's Missed Opportunities – Where do I start? The Buffalo Sabres had a couple great opportunities to put the puck in the back of the net tonight and they could not convert on their high danger chances. They had a 3-1 against the Caps and failed to generate anything meaningful. There was a loose puck just sitting on the goal line and one of the Sabres just completely whiffed on the tap-in goal. You have to feel for Buffao. There were countless missed chances tonight where you just shake your head and say “Man, Buffalo just cant catch a break right now”. I thought the Sabres played better than the 6-0 score indicates. They led the Capitals 11-5 in high danger chances, albeit seven were in the third period when the Capitals were conserving energy for tomorrow’s game.

Alex Ovechkin – Alex Oveckin is back baby! After starting off the season slow and missing some time for COVID, Ovechkin has found his goal scoring touch again. Not only that, but he is shooting the puck way more again. With his goal tonight, Ovechkin is now at 11 on the season and has scored four goals in five games. More importantly he tied Phil Esposito for 6th all-time with 717 career goals. Congrats, Ovi! Since returning from his four-game suspension on 01/30, Alex Ovechkin is 2nd in the league with 87 SOG. The only player with more is Brady Tkachuk with 103. I had no idea Brady Tkachuk was a SOG machine. You learn something new everyday! Anyways, I am happy to see Ovechkin scoring again. Lets see if he can keep it going against the Islanders tomorrow.

All in all, the Capitals handled business tonight like they should have. This Caps team is really clicking right now as one collective unit. The defense is playing together as a team, the offense is getting consistent production from all four lines, and goaltending seems to be shaping into form. I would say the only area of opportunity for the Capitals is to get their power play going again. The Islanders have a top 10 PK and rank 3rd best in the league with only 2.38 times short-handed a game. They also rank 3rd best in the league with 2.75 minor penalties per game. The Capitals are 5th worst in the league in drawing penalties at only 3.03/game. The over under on the Capitals power plays tomorrow night? I would put the line at 2.5. The Islanders also give up a league best 2.17 GA/GP. Tomorrow is gonna be a grind.

That is all, thanks for reading and GO CAPS

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Stats and Facts provided by:

nhl.com/stats
hockey-reference.com
naturalstattrick.com
@CapitalsPR Twitter page

Follow me on Twitter @HB_Capitals

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