Poti back from injury as Sloan returns to minors
The Capitals sent defenseman Tyler Sloan to AHL affiliate Hershey on Friday, paving the way for the return of defenseman Tom Poti, who has been out of the lineup since Oct. 16 with a groin injury.
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Poti, originally hurt during a game at Pittsburgh, practiced for the second day in a row and is set for tonight’s 7 o’clock start at Buffalo. The Caps (5-3-1) have struggled against the Sabres (6-2-2) in recent years, winning just three times in the last 12 meetings. Washington allowed 16 goals in four games with Buffalo last season, winning once.
“They have good special teams. But also five-on-five they have a fast-skating, puck-moving team,” said Caps forward Brooks Laich. “And they’ve played that way the last five or six years. They’re a tough team to play against, very offensive and creative.”
The Sabres won their first four games of the year and gained at least a point from their first eight. But they have now lost back-to-back contests at home by scores of 5-2 to Ottawa and Tampa Bay. Buffalo left wing Thomas Vanek leads the NHL with nine goals.
“[Vanek] is a guy that capitalizes on his opportunities,” said Poti, who will again play alongside Caps defenseman Jeff Schultz. “He might only have one or two a game. But it’s going to be behind the goal. And it just seems like he’s always finding a way to get open, finding a way to get shots.”
Poti’s return will help spell defenseman Mike Green, who enters the night fourth in the NHL in time-on-ice per game thanks in large part to extra work on special teams. Poti will return to his duties on the top penalty-kill unit and with the second power play.
Sloan, 27, played in four games with the Caps after his recall from Hershey, making his NHL debut in his hometown of Calgary last week. He delivered a highlight-reel hit that night on Flames center Daymond Langkow. Later that week, Sloan scored his first NHL goal against Dallas in a 6-5 overtime win.
“I liked what [Sloan] did. He came in here and you’re not asking him to be Bobby Orr. But he did a pretty solid job,” said Caps coach Bruce Boudreau. “He can skate, he’s big, he’s physical. He made a couple of mistakes. But I’ve got to believe that there’s a lot of nerves coming up for your first time. And the more comfortable he got, I thought, the better he played.”
Caps notes
» Caps coach Bruce Boudreau was hobbled after practice when a Chris Clark clearing attempt slammed into the side of his left knee. Boudreau, who was left with a sizeable lump on the leg, ended his daily briefing with reporters by joking that he was “headed for treatment.”
» Boudreau said the Caps will again likely be without star left wing Alex Ovechkin, still home in Russia with his ailing maternal grandfather. Ovechkin, who also missed Tuesday’s home game against Nashville, is expected back at practice Monday.
» Forwards Sergei Fedorov and Viktor Kozlov both returned to practice on Friday after a day off. Boudreau said both will play tonight. Forward Eric Fehr will be a healthy scratch for the seventh time this season.
» The Capitals also announced that Boudreau, in conjunction with Dulles, Va.-based Potomac Books, will have an autobiography on sale next fall. Tim Leone, a reporter for the Patriot-News newspaper in Harrisburg, Pa., co-wrote the book with last year’s NHL coach of the year. Leone covered Boudreau during his two-plus seasons coaching Hershey.
