The Washington Capitals take on the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon at 3 p.m. You can catch the game on Monumental Sports Network or listen to the game on 106.7 The Fan and Caps Radio 24/7.
The Sabres vs Capitals betting odds per Caesars have the Capitals as 1.5 goal favorites heading into today's game. The Capitals have -305 moneyline odds while the Sabres are the underdog at +240. The total for the game is set at an over/under of 6.0 goals.
#3 Get Alex Ovechkin the puck
In his last game which was a 4-2 loss on Thursday night to the Minnesota Wild, Alex Ovechkin was a -1 and skated for a total of 19:03 minutes on 21 shifts with three shots and two hits. His teammates are finding him more and they should do more of the same.
The math is simple, six goals over the next 10 games overtakes Wayne Gretzky's goal scoring record. Ovi is in need of a multi goal game somehwere in this stretch. Maybe he gets two today with Craig Laughlin back in the broadcast booth.
Four of the Caps remining 10 games will be played at home where the Capitals have won six straight. Despite dropping two straight games, the Capitals still own the highest point percentage at .715 in the NHL and reamin in contention for the franchise's fourth Presidents' Trophy.
Washington is also vying for their 14th division title in frachise history and its sixth first place finish in the Metropolitan Division. Since the Metro Divsion was formed in 2013-14, no other team has won more than two Metro titles.
Ovechkin has 41 goals against the Sabres in his career as well as 68 points in 66 career games. His 41 career goals against Buffalo are tied for the third most by a skater against the Sabres in NHL history.
#2 Wake up the power play
The power play has been a struggle for the Caps for the longest time. The Caps held a practice on Saturday and had a chance to their power play that they'll utilize in today's game. Tom Wilson, Dylan Strome, Pierre-Luc Dubois, Alex Ovechkin, and John Carlson are on the first unit still. But check the second unit.
Those names on the second power play are Rasmus Sandin and Jakob Chychrun while Alex Ovechkin takes Taylor Raddysh's spot while Andrew Mangiapane and Connor McMichael round out the unit.
Spencer Carbery hopes these tweaks fix a power play that has gone 0 for 18 over their last 10 games.
#1 Keep emotions in check
There's 10 games remaining and there's sure to be lots of emotion. A Presidents' Trophy, a record that was once unbreakable, a chance to win the division. And gearing up for bigger things ahead.
That's what is even bigger than these next 10 games. No matter what happens, playoff hockey is a different beast and we all know that. That said, feed off the crowds energy today but don't get too distracted.
Sounds simple but in that third period the other day, the Caps showed why playing a full 60 is important. After giving up that late goal in the second period it wasn't the same. They gotta be more on their toes today.