Game #24 Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo Sabers

Where: Verizon Center, Washington, DC

When: November 26, 2007, 7:00 PM

History:
Caps Record on this Date: 4-4-4-1
Caps Game 24 Record: 16-12-4-0
All-Time vs. BUF: 32-73-15-1
Last Season vs. BUF: 1-3-0
Last Meeting: 10/13/07, WAS 3 BUF 7

This Year:
WAS Record: 8-14-1
Standings Points: 17
Division Rank: 5^th
Conference Rank: 15^th
Last Game: 11/24/2007, WAS 5 CAR 2
Streak: Win 2

BUF Record: 10-10-1
Standings Points: 21
Division Rank: 4^th
Conference Rank: Tied 13^th
Last Game: 11/24/2007, BUF 3 MON 0
Streak: Win 4

Probable Line-Ups:
Washington
Forward Line 1: 8 OVECHKIN, 25 KOZLOV, 17 CLARK
Forward Line 2: 43 FLEISCHMANN, 92 NYLANDER, 28 SEMIN
Forward Line 3: 18 PETTINGER, 39 STECKEL, 15 GORDON
Forward Line 4: 87 BRASHEAR, 19 BACKSTROM, 21 LAICH
Defense Pair 1: 2 POTHIER, 3 POTI
Defense Pair 2: 26 MORRISONN, 52 GREEN
Defense Pair 3: 4 ERSKINE, 23 JURCINA
Goalie: 37 KOLZIG
Back-up Goalie: 1 JOHNSON

Buffalo
Forward Line 1: 26 VANEK, 55 HECHT, 21 STAFFORD
Forward Line 2: 41 MACARTHUR, 9 ROY, 29 POMINVILLE
Forward Line 3: 20 PAILLE, 19 CONNOLLY, 61 AFINOGENOV
Forward Line 4: 76 PETERS, 28 GAUSTAD, 12 KOTALIK
Defense Pair 1: 51 CAMPBELL, 10 TALLINDER
Defense Pair 2: 5 LYDMAN, 6 SPACEK
Defense Pair 3: 38 PAETSCH, 4 PRATT
Goalie: 30 MILLER
Back-up Goalie: 35 THIBAULT

Injuries:
Washington – 14 FEHR (hip) IR
Buffalo – 21 Stafford (shoulder) DTD, 45 Kalinin (knee) IR, 27 Numminen (heart surgery) IR

Caps Milestones:
Alexander Semin needs 3 Points to reach 100 for his career
Matt Pettinger needs 5 Points to reach 100 for his career
Brian Pothier needs 5 Points to reach 100 for his career
Michal Nylander needs 5 Goals to reach 200 for his career

Preview:
The Capitals are coming off back-to-back wins for the first time since game 4 and will try to win their third in a row this evening against the Buffalo Sabers. The Sabers started the season slowly but have a 4-game win streak coming into this game. They defeated Montreal twice in a home and home series on Friday and Saturday. Look for the Caps to keep up the aggressive forecheck and try to keep the puck away from the highly skilled Buffalo forwards. The Caps power play has shown signs of life with 4 goals in the last two games. They will need all the goals they can get as the Sabers pasted the Caps 7-3 back in game 5 but the new coach has the Caps playing like a new team.

Joe’s prediction: Caps 5 BUF 3.

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