How to watch Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo Sabres

The Capitals enjoyed a strong start to their 2021 season with back-to-back road wins over Buffalo, but they weren’t able to keep the momentum going in Pittsburgh. After the Penguins won both games, the Caps returned home for the first time this season to win a shootout of their own against the Sabres after Pittsburgh defeated the Capitals in the same fashion just five days prior.

Without Alex Ovechkin, Evgeny Kuznetsov, Ilya Samsonov, and Dmitry Orlov, the shorthanded Caps traded blows with Buffalo, including a mistake-ridden second period. Coach Peter Laviolette spoke postgame about his team’s second period struggles this season, and his desire to clean up the defensive breakdowns that come with them. 

Washington will now play their fourth game of the season against Buffalo, looking to remain unbeaten against a team that finished with the fourth-worst record in the Eastern Conference a season ago. 

Here’s everything you need to know about the game.

CAPITALS VS. SABRES HOW TO WATCH

What: Washington Capitals vs. Buffalo Sabres

Where: Capital One Arena, Washington, DC

When: Sunday, January 24, 2021, at 3 p.m. ET

TV Channel: Capitals vs. Sabres will be broadcast on NBC Sports Washington (NBC Sports channel finder)

Live Stream: You can live stream Capitals vs. Sabres on NBC Sports Washington’s live stream page and on the MyTeams app.

 

CAPITALS VS. SABRES TV SCHEDULE

2:00 PM: Capitals Pregame Live (LIVE
3:00 PM: Capitals vs. Sabres (LIVE)
5:30 PM: Capitals Postgame Live (LIVE)

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CAPITALS VS. SABRES WHAT TO WATCH

– Without four of their Russian key players for the next three contests, Washington will have to look for contributions from other role players. On Friday night, it was Nic Dowd who came through with a solid performance capped off with a rocket slap shot that banged in off the left post. Jakub Vrana, who’s ready to put the 2020 postseason behind him, also chipped in with a solid two-point performance. Who will step up Sunday? 

– The Sabres will be keen to not let the Caps continue their clean sweep on Sunday afternoon. The two teams will play their fifth and sixth encounters in mid-February, and Buffalo likely won’t get another shot at playing with this much of an advantage with four important Capitals out due to violating NHL protocols. 

– Washington rookie goaltender Vitek Vanecek’s 24 saves on Friday night included some breathtaking stops, but it wasn’t enough to prevent the three goals given up as the Sabres forced overtime. Now in his first three starts in his NHL career, Vancecek has allowed nine goals – with five of them coming in Washington’s 5-4 OT loss to the Penguins. With Samsonov still out for the next three games on the NHL’s COVID-19 absence list, the Caps recalled veteran netminder Craig Anderson to serve as his backup. 

CAPITALS VS. SABRES PLAYERS TO WATCH

Capitals: Jakub Vrana, LW (5 games, 3 goals, 2 assists, 5 points). Vrana has been one of the biggest brightspots of the Caps’ early season, providing a spark offensively with some sharpshooting finishing. Now level with teammates Nicklas Backstrom, T.J. Oshie, and Ovechkin, Vrana will be called on even more on Sunday to put points on the board. 

Sabres: Jack Eichel, C (5 games, 0 goals, 6 assists, 6 points). Eichel is one of the game’s brightest young stars, and he currently is tied for the league-wide lead in assists. He has yet to find the back of the net this season, and is coming off his second consecutive pointless game of the season, so the Caps will have to key in on him to keep him from bouncing back.