Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres 1/14/21 - NHL Picks & Predictions
The Capitals are coming to the game here with a lot of potential. The Capitals last season finished with 3.42 goals per game scored and converting on the power play at 19.4%. The defense for Washington has allowed 3.07 goals per game, but were impressive on the penalty kill at 82.6%.
Nicklas Backstrom is coming back for the Capitals this year. However, one thing that the Capitals have to be concerned about is Alex Ovechkin coming back to play as well, but he is 35 years old. Now, the Capitals will have a challenge on their hands in net with Ilya Samsonov and Henrik Lundqvist coming in to protect the net.
Buffalo is coming in after playing very consistent on the year last season. The problem for Buffalo is their offense was not the powerhouse it should have been. The Sabres last year scored 2.80 goals per game while converting on 18.9% of the power plays. Defensively the Buffalo team allowed 3.12 goals per game while killing off only 74.6% of the power plays.
The Sabres are bringing back Eric Staal and Taylor Hall in this game here. However, Buffalo does have Jeff Skinner as well to help the team out on the day. The goalie the Sabres should look to rely on is Carter Hutton, but also the Sabres have Linus Ullmark who could help spearhead the defense for the Sabres.
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Finding the right goalie combination could be a challenge for the Capitals in the game. Samsonov has played good in the past, but Lundqvist is coming in as a good veteran presence, but he did not look nearly as good as what he did before. Now, the main thing here is the Sabres are coming in unsettled as well, but Buffalo has always started off hot then faded and that is what happens here. Final Score Prediction, Buffalo Sabres win 3-2.