Buffalo Sabres - Washington Capitals Game Preview
4/4/26 - 7:00pm at Capital One Arena, in Washington D.C.
Buffalo – 46-22-8 | - 100 points – 2nd place in the Atlantic Division
Washington – 38-29-9 | - 85 points – 6th place in the Metropolitan Division
Special Teams
Buffalo
Power Play – 21.2% (15th)
Penalty Kill – 81.9% (T-5th)
Washington
Power Play – 18.0% (23rd)
Penalty Kill - 79.7% (14th)
Top Scorers
Buffalo
Tage Thompson: 76 GP, 38 G, 40 A, 78 PTS
Rasmus Dahlin: 72 GP, 17 G, 50 A, 67 PTS
Alex Tuch: 73 GP, 29 G, 31 A, 60 PTS
Washington
Alex Ovechkin: 76 GP, 31 G, 28 A, 59 PTS
Jakob Chychrun: 74 GP, 24 G, 33 A, 57 PTS
Tom Wilson: 66 GP, 28 G, 28 A, 56 PTS
Starting Goalies(projected)
Buffalo – Alex Lyon (20-9-4, 2.66 GAA, .910 Sv %)
Washington – Logan Thompson (27-21-6, 2.53 GAA, .909 Sv %)
Other Sabres Stories
Sabres Line Combinations and Pairings (projected)
Forwards
Peyton Krebs - Tage Thompson - Josh Doan
Jason Zucker - Josh Norris - Alex Tuch
Zach Benson - Ryan McLeod - Jack Quinn
Jordan Greenway - Tyson Kozak - Beck Malenstyn
Ex. Tanner Pearson, Josh Dunne
Defense
Mattias Samuelsson - Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power - Bowen Byram
Logan Stanley - Zach Metsa
Ex. Conor Timmins, Luke Schenn, Michael Kesselring
Goaltenders
Alex Lyon
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Colten Ellis
Injuries
Justin Danforth (lower body, Oct. 18; injured reserve)
Jiri Kulich (blood clot, Nov. 4; injured reserve - out for the season)
Sam Carrick (upper body, Mar. 31; injured reserve)
Noah Ostlund (upper body, Mar.25; day-to-day(
Notes
Buffalo would clinch a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2010-11 with a win tonight or a regulation loss by Detroit.
Buffalo could also clinch a playoff spot by earning a point in tonight’s game against Washington and a regulation loss by Ottawa against Minnesota or a Rangers win of any kind against Detroit.
The Sabres have earned at least one point in 23 of their last 28 contests (20-5-3), including a league-best 14 wins and 30 points since the Olympic break.
Since Dec. 9, the Sabres rank first among all NHL teams in wins (35) and points (74). Buffalo’s 30 regulation wins in that span also lead the league.
Buffalo has not lost consecutive games in regulation since the team fell in three straight from Dec. 3 at Philadelphia to Dec. 8 at Calgary.
Tage Thompson has tallied 55 points (25+30) in 47 games since Dec. 9 and his 22 even-strength goals in that span rank tied for third among all NHL skaters. Thompson has registered six points (2+4) in his last five games. Thompson needs seven more goals to pass Jason Pominville (217 goals with Buffalo) and gain sole possession of 10th
place on Buffalo’s all-time goal-scoring list.
Rasmus Dahlin ranks first among all Sabres skaters in assists (32) and second in points (47) since Dec. 9. His 15 goals in that span rank tied for second among all NHL defensemen. Tonight’s game marks the 582nd of Dahlin’s career, tied with Jay McKee for the seventh-most by a defenseman in franchise history.
Peyton Krebs has posted a point in four consecutive games (2+2) and he would match the longest point streak of his career (five games; March 25 to April 1, 2025; 3+3) with a point tonight.
Jack Quinn has posted three points (1+2) in his last three games.
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