Washington Capitals vs. Sabres: Will the Caps start with a bang?
By David Trice
Preview of the 2021 season opener, how to catch the action.
What an off season, we have been awaiting this day for a while now. It looked as though it may never come to be, but here we are about to embark on a new season albeit with less games and new divisional alignment. Look for the fireworks to be on display every night as this is being dubbed a 56 game playoff run, as most are expecting with the new alignment and limited travel there will be no shortage of rivalries being displayed nightly.
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While they don’t fit the typical rivalry for the Washington Capitals, Buffalo Sabres have received the great honor of opening the season at home against the Caps. As part of the newly aligned East division they will meet 8 times through the 56 game schedule. So while they don’t harbor hard feelings at this time, don’t be surprised to see some animosity brewing eventually with the frequency of their meeting each other.
The Sabres have been wasting the early years of Jack Eichel by missing the playoffs every season since adding him second overall in the 2015 NHL Draft. In response to their captains ploy to either add talent or let him go to a team with more promise. the team added a few key players to help propel them to the next level.
In comes Taylor Hall to increase their offensive firepower and Eric Staal to assist in bringing Jeff Skinner back to his old ways as these two have a history dating back to their time together with the Carolina Hurricanes. Couple these moves with some smart depth signings and the growth of their stellar draft capital from finishing at or near the bottom of their division for the last 10 years.
But the Sabres won’t have it easy in their home opener as the Washington Capitals have maintained their roster minus longtime starting goalie Braden Holtby. Not only have they kept all their key players, but they have added some respectable defensemen to assist the youth movement in net.
With the additions of Trevor van Riemsdyk, Justin Schultz, and Zdeno Chara, the Capitals hope to ease the burden on the young tandem of Samsonov/Vanecek in net. To make matters harder for the Sabres the Capitals added a more experienced coach to run the bench and push the right buttons to maximize the teams talents. Think waking a sleeping giant compared to the team in Washington over the last few seasons.
Next. What to expect from Head Coach Laviolette. dark
The Washington Capitals are expected to come out looking to take the NHL by storm after the hiring of Peter Laviolette to take over and the additions in the defensive core. Look for some bounce back seasons and some continued progress in amazing careers. Here’s how to find out what the first opportunity for the new look team will look like:
Date: Thursday, January 14th
Time: 7:00 pm EST
Where: Capital One Arena
TV Broadcast: NBC Sports Washington and NBC Sports Network
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Caps Radio 24/7
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Bonus Fantasy Hockey Coverage:
For those of you who enjoy the fantasy sports scene, here are a few of the players in this contest to consider putting into your starting lineup before the game starts:
Stats when playing against Buffalo Sabres:
Alex Ovechkin (50 GP: 33 G, 18 A)