The Buffalo Sabres have the 8th and final spot in the Eastern Conference Playoff picture but they may not be there for long. The Washington Capitals play the Minnesotta Wild this afternoon in Washington, DC and can retake 8th place from Buffalo. With the Sabres' next game being on Tuesday at Washington, the pressure to win will be overwhelming as the two clubs face-off in the Verizon Center.
Buffalo will have two days rest going into the game though which will be helpful. They are coming off of another back to back set of games this week and can use the time to prepare for the Capitals. The big question though is if Buffalo can keep up their momentum heading into Tuesday night's game.
Currently the Sabres have been one of the hottest teams in the league. The line of Tyler Ennis, Drew Stafford and Marcus Foligno has been unstoppable since they began playing together a few weeks ago. Pair that with additional help from the defense including big Tyler Myers and stone-cold goaltending from Ryan Miller and you have the formula for a Sabres team on a role.
The Verizon Center is not an easy arena to play in but the Sabres can give themselves an advantage by getting a couple of goals early. If you take the crowd out of it early there, the Caps seem to struggle to get back into a game. Also it will be vital for the team to play a tight, physical game with a continued emphasis on the forecheck. If they can just keep the pressure on the Washington throughout the course of the game, they should be able to shut down their offense from organizing any offense.
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