Top 3 key Capitals to watch against Sabres
We’re doing things a little differently. We’ll have all your pregame information in this article or a different type of one. The Washington Capitals take on the Buffalo Sabres tonight on the eve of Thanksgiving. Happy Capsgiving indeed and see you at the game.
- Date: 11/22/23
- Time: 7 p.m.
- Where: Capital One Arena
- What Channel Is Capitals Game On: Monumental Sports Network
- Radio: 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7
- Betting Odds: The Sabres vs. Capitals betting odds on Caesars have the Capitals as 1.5 point favorites at home. The Capitals have -130 moneyline odds, while the Sabres are the underdog at +110. The total for the game is set at an over/under of 6.0 points.
- Live Streaming: fuboTV has live NHL games which you can stream from your phone, television, and all your favorite devices. This is a service that broadcasts live TV over the internet, no cable required. Watch your favorite teams, network shows, news, and movies on 100+ channels. Plus on-demand entertainment including full TV series. fuboTV is currently available in the United States, Canada, and Spain. Packages and pricing differ per country.
- Reddit: Reddit can sometimes have streams of live NHL games but make sure they are legal. The official NHL Subreddit is located at https://www.reddit.com/r/nhl/.
Now let’s get to the top 3 players to watch in the game.
#3 Joel Edmundson
Joel Edmundson plays in his second Capitals game tonight after making his Caps debut on Nov. 18 against the Columbus Blue Jackets. In that game, he logged 21:42 minutes of ice time and blocked two shots. His 21:42 minutes of ice time was the third highest total on the team and his 2:18 time on ice while shorthanded ranked third among Caps defensemen.
Edmundson, who missed Washington’s first 14 games of the season after suffering an injury during a training camp intrasquad scrimmage, was acquired via a trade from the Montreal Canadiens on July 1.
The six foot five, 216 pound defenseman recorded 13 points with two goals and 11 assists in 61 games with the Canadiens during the 2022 23 season and ranked second among Montreal blue liners in hits with 112 and blocked shots with 149 as well as fourth in ice time per game averaging 19:34.
In addition, Edmundson averaged 3:19 of shorthanded ice time per game in 2022 23, which ranked second in the NHL among all defensemen. Since entering the NHL in 2015 16, Edmundson ranks 14th among NHL defensemen in hits per 60 minutes with 6.17.
At Monday’s practice, Edmundson was on the second pairing with Nick Jensen, who we will talk about next as he achieves a big milestone.
#2 Nick Jensen
Tonight Nick Jensen will play in his 500th career game when the Washington Capitals take on the Buffalo Sabres. Jensen has played 309 of his 499 career games thus far with Washington. He previously played in 190 career games with the Detroit Red Wings before they traded him to the Caps at the 2019 trade deadline.
Jensen has played in 309 of Washington’s 324 games since making his Capitals debut on Feb. 24, 2019, the most games played on the team in that span. That accounts for 95.4 percent of their games since that day.
Jensen recorded a career high 24 assists and 29 points last season. So far this year he has registered two assists in 15 games. Jensen has increased his point total in each of his four full seasons with the Capitals.
This season, Jensen ranks first on the Capitals in shorthanded ice time per game at 3:20 and fourth in ice time per game averaging 20:12. Jensen’s 52.94 goals for percentage at five on five ranks first among Capitals defensemen. That’s nine goals four and eight goals against.
Jensen will likely line up in the second pair with Joel Edmundson based on how the rushes were at Monday’s practice. Today is an optional morning skate at MedStar Capitals Iceplex. Congrats to Jensen!
#1 Alex Ovechkin
After a slow start to the season, Alex Ovechkin has started to heat up. He has scored three goals in his last three games. It began with a two goal performance on Nov. 11 at the New York Islanders. It was his 168th career multi goal game. Only Wayne Gretzky has more multi goal games in NHL history with 189.
Ovechkin’s second goal that night was an empty netter which tied him with Gretzky at 56 for the most empty net goals in NHL history. Including playoff goals, Ovechkin’s next goal will be the 900th of his career. He has 827 regular season goals and 72 playoff goals.
Ovechkin enters tonight’s game just three points shy of 1,500 career points. He can become the 16th player in NHL history and the second active player behind Sidney Crosby to reach the 1,500 point mark. Ovechkin leads the Capitals in 12 points with five goals and seven assists in 15 games this season.
The Capitals Have A Chance To Go On An Extended Run. light. Hot
Ovechkin needs 67 goals to tie Gretzky and 68 to pass him. As he’s signed with the Capitals for the next three seasons, he needs to average 25 goals each season to pass him as the NHL’s all time leading goal scorer. If he can reach 30 goals, he would pass former Capital Mike Gartner (17) for the most 30 goal seasons in NHL history.