Game # 31
Caps (19-5-6, 44 points) at Buffalo Sabres (16-9-2, 34 points)
Caps make their first visit to Buffalo tonight when they take on the Sabres at 7 p.m. at HSBC Arena. They shut out the Sabres the day before Thanksgiving, 2-0, at Verizon Center. But the man who did the goaltending that night is hurt, Caps coach Bruce Boudreau told reporters at the morning skate. Rookie Semyon Varlamov is listed as day-to-day with a groin strain suffered on the final shot of Monday’s 3-0 win at Tampa Bay. So the Caps have recalled rookie Michal Neuvirth from AHL Hershey. The 21-year-old made 19 saves in a 3-2 loss to Montreal on Nov. 20 in his lone NHL start this season. He is 9-2 with the Bears and has a 1.99 goals-against average. His .929 save percentage ranks seventh in the AHL. Those are pretty eye-popping numbers.
Not sure when – or even if – Neuvirth will play though. Jose Theodore gets the start tonight. He has played well lately, stopping 72 of the last 76 shots he’s faced in wins over Carolina and Philadelphia. Varlamov will be re-evaluated before this weekend’s games with Carolina and Toronto. The Caps have won six in a row and sit atop the NHL standings. Forward Matt Bradley will also miss this game – his wife gave birth to a baby boy Tuesday.
