April 2 vs. Buffalo Sabres at Key Bank Center
Time: 7:00 p.m.
TV: MNMT
Stream: MonSports.net/Stream
Radio: 106.7 The Fan, Capitals Radio 24/7
Washington Capitals (36-27-10)
Buffalo Sabres (35-35-5)
After a prosperous month of March, the Caps open a frenzied April schedule on Tuesday night in Buffalo against the Sabres. Tuesday’s game is the first of two visits to western New York for the Caps in April; they’ll be right back at Key Bank Center a week from Thursday to finish off their season’s series with the Sabres. Tuesday's game is the first of two road games sandwiched around the Caps' Thursday home date with the Pittsburgh Penguins; Washington visits Carolina on Friday.
After playing 13 games in a span of 24 nights to finish out March, the Caps took Sunday off before reconvening at MedStar Capitals Iceplex for a Monday morning practice. The combination of Sunday/Monday with no games is a bit of an oasis in the desert for the Caps; it marks the only time in the season’s final 41 days that Washington will have more than one day between games.
“This was our last two days [between games],” says Caps’ coach Spencer Carbery, “where we get a day off after the game, and then a good practice run to prepare us for the final stretch run, where the games are going to come quick, and the schedule is going to be heavy down the stretch. But nothing is changing with our mindset and our approach.
“Today was a preparation day; get back on the ice, get loosened up, work on a couple of things that will relate to [Tuesday] in Buffalo, and stay focused on making sure that we’re at our best [Tuesday] night.”
When the month of March began, the Caps were the 11th place team in the Eastern Conference standings, and they sat six points south of third place in the Metropolitan Division, and seven points out of the second wild playoff berth. But after posting a 9-5-1 against a group of mostly difficult opponents last month, the Caps open April in the catbird’s seat, holding third place in the Metro Division – via tiebreakers over Philadelphia – and two points ahead of Detroit for the second wild card slot.
The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Caps, though. Of the 13 Eastern Conference teams with faint playoff hopes – a group that includes Buffalo as the 13th of those teams – only Washington must play its final nine games in a tight span of 15 days. The Caps are one of only two teams to face two more sets of back-to-back games in the April portion of their schedule; the other is Toronto, and the Leafs could clinch their playoff berth as early as Monday night. And even with the two back-to-backs in April, Toronto has the luxury of playing its final nine games in 17 days.
That means the Caps need to keep their foot on the gas pedal over these final two weeks of the season, which ends for them in Philadelphia, two weeks from Tuesday’s game on the shores of Lake Erie. They’ve also got to manage their bodies, ward off fatigue, recover well and quickly, and manage their energy during this crucial stretch of the campaign.
“The body at this time of year, everyone’s got some bumps and bruises,” says Caps’ defenseman Trevor van Riemsdyk. “I think we saw it last year, the importance of just trying to stay healthy, and keeping the injuries to stuff that’s more manageable is key.
“Last year, we lost a ton of man games to injury, and that’s always tough to battle through. Guys stepped up, but obviously there’s no replacing guys like Johnny [Carlson] and [T.J. Oshie] when we lose them. It’s key at this time of year to manage energy, and to do whatever you need to do to be ready for seven o’clock.”
Washington has been playing the virtual equivalent of playoff hockey since it returned from the All-Star break, and it enters this critical stretch of the season with a 14-7-3 mark in its last 24 games. Putting together that strong stretch has lifted the Caps from also-rans to a playoff position, but no determinations are made after 73 games, only after 82. The Caps’ strong play over the last two months has given them control over their own destiny, but now they must work to maintain it as they navigate their way through a busy, grueling and daunting final two weeks.
“We’ve put ourselves in a good spot,” says Caps’ center Dylan Strome. “We’re not chasing anything right now; it’s in our own control. We’ve just got to play decent hockey the rest of the way. We know where we’re at, and we’re just trying to keep it one day at a time. We know how many games we have left, and we know what it’s probably going to take for us to get in.
“Now, we’ve just got to keep stringing together the wins. We’ve got some teams that are fighting for their lives that we’re playing against, so those are important games, and we’ll be ready for them.”
Buffalo’s own miniscule playoff hopes are fading, and the Sabres are coming into Tuesday’s game on the heels of a 3-0 shutout loss at the hands of the Maple Leafs on Saturday night. The Sabres have only seven games remaining, and they’re seven points out of a playoff position. Buffalo is on the verge of a 13th straight season on the outside of the playoffs, and it has already assured a drop from last season’s total of 91 points, its highest since its last playoff voyage in 2010-11 (96 points). But whatever fading hopes the Sabres harbor can only be maintained with a Tuesday night win over Washington.
“We were thinking the same thing when we were 10 [points] back of Detroit,” says Strome of the Sabres’ likely mindset going into Tuesday’s tilt here. “We were thinking the same thing, ‘Win your games against Detroit, take care of the rest, and you’ll be fine.’ And you know they’re thinking the same thing, so it’s going to be a good game.
“They’ve kind of changed their MO this year where they’ve been playing a bit more defensive. Maybe they haven’t gotten as many points this year, but they’re playing good hockey and they’re closer to the playoffs this year. I think it’s something that we need to be aware of, that they still have the firepower, but they’re not giving up as much.”
Tuesday’s game is the middle match of a three-game homestand for the Sabres, who will host Philadelphia here on Friday before heading out on the road for four of their final five games of the season. Buffalo is on an 11-8-1 run since Feb. 21.
