Game #5 Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres

Where: HSBC Arena, Buffalo, NY

When: October 13, 2007, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 4-11-2-0
Caps Game 5 Record: 7-24-1-0
All-Time vs. BUF: 32-72-15-1
Last Season vs. BUF: 1-3-0
Last Meeting: 4/7/07, WAS 0 BUF 2

This Year:
WAS Record: 3-1-0
Standings Points: 6
Division Rank: Tied 2^nd
Conference Rank: Tied 4^nd
Last Game: 10/12/2007, WAS 1 NYR 3
Streak: Loss 1

BUF Record: 1-2-0
Standings Points: 2
Division Rank: 5^th
Conference Rank: Tied 11^th
Last Game: 10/11/2007, BUF 6 ATL 0
Streak: Win 1

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 Ovechkin, 25 Kozlov, 43 Fleischmann
Forward Line 2: 19 Backstrom, 92 Nylander, 17 Clark
Forward Line 3: 18 Pettinger, 39 Steckel, 10 Bradley
Forward Line 4: 87 Brashear, 16 Sutherby, 21 Laich
Defense Pair 1: 3 Poti, 23 Jurcina
Defense Pair 2: 2 Pothier, 26 Morrisonn
Defense Pair 3: 4 Erskine, 52 Green
Goalie: 37 Kolzig
Back-up Goalie: 1 Johnson

Buffalo
Forward Line 1: Vanek, Roy, Pominville
Forward Line 2: Hecht, Connolly, Afinogenov
Forward Line 3: Kotalik, Gaustad, Stafford
Forward Line 4: Paille, Mair, Ryan
Defense Pair 1: Campgell, Tallinder
Defense Pair 2: Lydman, Spacek
Defense Pair 3: Kalinin, Paetsch
Goalie: Miller
Back-up Goalie: Thibault

Injuries:
Washington – 14 Fehr (hip), 28 Semin (Ankle), 44 Eminger (Ankle), 15 Gordon
Buffalo – Numminen (heart)

Caps Milestones:
Alex Ovechkin scored his 100^th career goal on Friday night. His 202 points is tied with Rod Langway for 31^st in Capitals franchise history.
Alexander Semin needs 4 Points to reach 100 for his career
Chris Clark needs 7 Points to reach 100 with the Capitals
Matt Pettinger needs 8 Points to reach 100 for his career

Preview:

After losing to the Rangers last night, the Capitals head to Buffalo for a game against the Sabers. The Capitals through the game plan out the window against the Rangers. They took 12 minutes in penalties in the first period leading to the Rangers three goals. Following the fist period the Caps were never able to get any sort of cohesion together in their lines. Tonight they will have to play much more disciplined if they expect to win. The Sabres may have lost their two big guns but they still have a wealth of talent. It should be an exciting game as both teams play a very up tempo style of hockey.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 4 BUF 3.

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