In between the two games against Buffalo, the Caps dropped a 2-1 decision to the Penguins here on Wednesday, a loss that halted their five-game winning streak. That Wednesday loss to Pittsburgh also makes Friday’s game the rubber game of the homestand.
Burakovsky’s Back – After sitting out each of the last four games as a healthy scratch, Washington winger Andre Burakovsky is set to draw back into the Caps’ lineup for Friday’s game against the Sabres.
Those last four games are the only games Burakovsky has missed this season, and he had goals in two of his previous five games at the time of his benching. But with 14 healthy forwards currently on the roster, the Caps’ coaching staff has difficult decisions to make in terms of personnel every night.
“He understands what the foundation of his game needs to look like,” says Caps coach Todd Reirden of Burakovsky, “and there are a few key points that coincide with that. He’s got to be able to take advantage of this opportunity and help our team have success. So we’re looking forward to getting him back in there tonight.”
Burakovsky turns 24 in February, and he has 281 regular season NHL games under his belt. He put up a 17 goals and 38 points in 79 games as a 20-year-old sophomore in the league in 2015-16, fueling the Caps’ collevtive hopes for another late first-round success; Burakovsky was chosen 23rd overall in the 2013 NHL Draft.
Injuries took a bite out of each of his last two seasons, and after scoring 26 goals and 60 points in his first two seasons (132 games) in the league, he has totaled 29 goals and 68 points over the past three seasons (149 games) – including the current one – while seeing slightly more ice time during the second of those stretches.
This season, Burakovsky has five goals and eight points in 29 games while averaging a career low 11:36 per night.
Burakovsky is still young, he is still skilled and he is still speedy, and those are all desirable assets in the modern NHL. The Caps would love nothing more than for Burakovsky to make it impossible for the team to ever scratch him again.
Video: Andre Burakovsky | December 21
“Just keep going like I’ve been doing,” says Burakovsky, when queried as to what he must do in his return. “Maybe be a little bit more creative, just go to the net hard and do all of the things the coaches expect me to do.”
Burakovsky will be on Washington’s third line in Friday’s game, skating alongside familiar linemates in Brett Connolly and Lars Eller.
“I think if you find chemistry with some guys, it’s going to stick with those guys,” says Burakovsky. “I like playing with Lars and Conno a lot, so it’s going to be fun to go back in with those two today.”
Chandler Stephenson also comes back into the Washington lineup on Friday after sitting out Wednesday’s game against the Penguins as a healthy scratch. With Burakovsky and Stephenson back in, Dmitrij Jaskin and Travis Boyd will sit out Friday’s game against the Sabres.
Buffalo Soldiers – Washington boasts the league’s leading goal scorer in Alex Ovechkin, who has 29 goals in 33 games this season. The three members of the Caps’ top forward trio (Ovechkin, Nicklas Backstrom and T.J. Oshie) have combined for 49 goals thus far this season.
But Buffalo lays claim to the league’s second-leading goal scorer in Jeff Skinner, who has netted 25 goals in 35 games in 2018-19. Along with linemates Jack Eichel and Sam Reinhart, that trio has combined for 47 goals this season.
Skinner came from Carolina in an offseason deal that cost Buffalo a trio of draft picks and a prospect.
“I think Skinner has really fit in nicely with them,” says Reirden. “I think his speed and his quickness around the net – to be able to recover pucks – he does a really good job in tight areas. I think that because he is able to help recover some of those pucks and he is able to get it out to Eichel. His release for one, when he gets to the dangerous areas, but also he is able to I’d say enter the zone a little bit easier than he has in the past.
Video: Todd Reirden | December 21
“Skinner, if you look at some of his habits, are to push out of the defensive zone at times and leave the zone looking for offense. In turn, you have to respect that as a defender, so he ends up giving some more space to Eichel. So it’s important that we track from behind in those situations, and not give too much space to a guy who has that skill level and speed coming at you. But those are the things you have to respect with Skinner on that line and Reinhart obviously putting together his best season.”
“It’s definitely a dangerous challenge, and we’re fortunate that we have the home change tonight.”
All three members of the Sabres’ top trio were top 10 NHL draft choices. Carolina chose Skinner with the 10th overall pick in the 2010 NHL draft and Buffalo chose Reinhart second overall in 2014 and took Eichel second overall in 2015. Nine of the 11 former first-rounders were chosen in the top 15 in their respective draft years.
Eleven of Buffalo’s rostered players are former first-round choices, and six of them were Buffalo first-rounders.
In The Nets – Braden Holtby gets the net for Washington in Friday’s rematch with the Sabres, his first start against Buffalo this season, and his first start against them in more than two years. Philipp Grubauer started each of Washington’s three games against Buffalo last season; Holtby’s last start against the Sabres came on Dec. 5, 2016 in a 3-2 come-from-behind overtime victory over Buffalo. Marcus Johansson tied the game late in regulation with a power-play goal and won it in overtime.
In his last 11 games, Holtby is 8-3-0 with a shutout, a 2.43 GAA and a .923 save pct. Lifetime against the Sabres, Holtby is 8-3-1 with a shutout, a 2.62 GAA and a .906 save pct.
Buffalo is also playing the front end of a set of back-to-back games tonight; the Sabres return home to host Anaheim on Saturday. Carter Hutton is expected to start against the Caps for the second time in a week; he absorbed the loss here on Friday while making 35 saves on 38 shots.
Hutton won eight of the decisions during Buffalo’s 10-game winning streak last month, but he has won one of five starts (1-3-1) since, posting a 2.99 GAA and a .907 save pct. along the way. Lifetime against Washington, Hutton is 2-2-2 in seven appearances, with a 3.53 GAA and an .876 save pct.
Video: Two-Man Advantage | December 21
All Lined Up – This is how we expect the Caps and the Sabres to look when they meet on Friday night at Capital One Arena:
WASHINGTON
Forwards
8-Ovechkin, 19-Backstrom, 77-Oshie
13-Vrana, 92-Kuznetsov, 43-Wilson
65-Burakovsky, 20-Eller, 10-Connolly
18-Stephenson, 26-Dowd, 25-Smith-Pelly
Defensemen
6-Kempny, 74-Carlson
9-Orlov, 2-Niskanen
34-Siegenthaler, 22-Bowey
Goaltenders
70-Holtby
1-Copley
Injuries
29-Djoos (lower body)
44-Orpik (lower body)
Scratches
23-Jaskin
72-Boyd
78-Lewington
BUFFALO
Forwards
53-Skinner, 9-Eichel, 23-Reinhart
43-Sheary, 17-Sobotka, 71-Rodrigues
28-Girgensons 37-Mittelstadt, 21-Okposo
81-Elie, 22-Larsson, 72-Thompson
Defensemen
26-Dahlin, 4-Bogosian
24-Pilut, 55-Ristolainen
6-Scandella, 19-McCabe
Goaltenders
40-Hutton
35-Ullmark
Injuries
8-Nelson (upper body)
20-Wilson (ankle)
29-Pominville (upper body)
82-Beaulieu (lower body)
Scratches
45-Guhle
48-Hunwick
Be the first to comment