They took care of one nemesis already this week. Now the Capitals hope for more of the same against another.
After breaking a five-game losing streak to the Boston Bruins in fine style on Monday — a shockingly easy 10-2 victory — the Caps travel to Buffalo tonight for another pivotal game in the Eastern Conference playoff race.
Again, recent history is against them. Washington also has lost five games in a row to the Sabres. They are 1-6 at HSBC Arena since the 2003-04 season and 2-13 overall against Buffalo during that stretch.
Then again, the past didn’t seem to matter much against the Bruins as forward Alex Ovechkin recorded a hat trick in the first period and matched his career high with five points.
“It’s all about helping the team win, pushing forward,” said Ovechkin, who led the NHL in goals (52) and points (90) entering last night’s action. “If I score goal and we win I’m happy … [But] I don’t want to be selfish.”
Buffalo looked dead after a Jan. 21 loss to Phoenix. At that point, the Sabres had lost 12 of 13 games and had fallen below .500 at 20-21-6. But they quickly righted the ship. Right wing Thomas Vanek (27 goals, 25 assists) was named the NHL’s Third Star in February when he totaled 13 goals and seven assists and helped his team pick up 25 standings points in 19 games.
Buffalo has started to skid again at the worst possible time, however, with four losses in its last five games before last night’s game at Philadelphia. Part of that streak coincides with the trade of All-Star defenseman Brian Campbell, a free agent at the end of the season who was not guaranteed to stay with the team. He was sent to San Jose at the trade deadline Feb. 26 for forward Steve Bernier and a first-round draft pick.
