Caps @ Buffaslugs 3-21-2007 Preview

Washington Capitals (26-47; 65 points; 5th Southeast Division, 14th Eastern, Conference, 26th Overall) @ Buffaslugs (46-26; 99 points, 1st Northeast Division, 1st Eastern Conference, 2nd Overall):
Caps Game #74, Road Game #36, NHL Game #1,096

HSBC Arena, Loserville...er... Buffalo, NY. 7:05 pm. Washington TV: Comcast SportsNet Mid-Atlantic. Radio: WTEM 980-AM. Loserville...er... Buffalo TV: MSG Network. Radio: WWGR 550-AM. Canadian National TV: TSN. NHL Center Ice: MSG Network feed (I'm sorry).

Fresh off back-to-back wins at home, tonight the Caps start a three games in four nights road trip in good old Loserville...er... Buffalo. Our old Buffaslug friends have lost their last three games at home and are coming of a 4-3 overtime loss to the Atlanta Thrashers this past Sunday afternoon. The Caps on the other hand have lost their last four road games.

What The Natives Are Saying:

(Com)Post. Times. Caps.com. Caps.com .pdf game notes.

Open Source Intelligence:

Buffalo News: Zubrus wings it, returning players. Buffaslugs.com. Buffaslugs.com .pdf game notes.

Neutral Observers:

NHL.com AP Wire.

What Do I Expect Tonight?:

The Caps offense has finally broken back out and what makes it all the more encouraging is that A.O. is not part of the renaissance. The Buffaslugs have been up and down recently so the Caps have a good chance tonight. The Buffaslugs broke a four game losing streak last Thursday night and won back-to-back games in Florida before losing in overtime on Sunday. However, there isn't much for the Caps to spoil tonight. The Buffaslugs have sewn up a playoff spot and have comfortable leads in their Division and in the Conference. The only thing a Caps win in regulation tonight would do is keep the Buffaslugs one point behind Nashville in the race for the President's trophy. The key is to get out early on the Buffaslugs, when the Caps beat them in December the Caps chased Ryan Miller after 3 goals on 9 shots in the first 8 minutes of the first period. The Buffaslugs returned the favor right after Christmas chasing Brent Johnson with four goals on six shots in seven and half minutes of work.

Caps Nut Official Washington Hockey.com Predict The Score Contest Entry:

Caps 4
Buffaslugs 6
Winner by Drury.