by Chuck Sommers
Sunday, Feb 26, 2023
Time: 1 p.m. ET
Venue: KeyBank Center, Buffalo, NY
Where to watch: NHLN, NBCSWA, MSG-B, SN360
Opening Odds at USA Sportsbooks
DraftKings: Sabres -125, Capitals +105
FanDuel: Sabres -122, Capitals +102
BetMGM: Sabres -120, Capitals +100
Caesars: Sabres -125, Capitals +105
Season record
Capitals: 29-26-6
Sabres: 30-23-4
The All-Star break is over, the second half of the NHL season can officially begin, and we're bound for what should be a very exciting second half of the hockey season. Basketball and hockey are about to rule the roost in the sports betting world once the Super Bowl is done with, and we should all be very excited for what's to come. When the trade deadline hits and players switch teams, you know things are about to get hectic over these final 30 games or so. One way you can stay tuned with the action is following what our champion handicappers are doing in the world of the NHL. Look at ASA, Inc., reeling in a $6,750 profit off a 17-9-0 run. Al McMordie is also doing well on the ice with a 13-5-0 run and a net profit of $6,050. Scott Rickenbach has also been hanging strong with a lot of betting action, in what's been an unusual year, with a 24-18-0 run and reeling in $5,950. You know this action is going to be great now that games are back and a busy second half if on the horizon. All you need to do is head to our BEST BETS page at bigal.com to find out all of what we're trying to tell you. Make sure you're locked in at bigal.com and go to our Best Bets page to find out what our champion handicappers have to say in the world of the NHL!
Capitals - Sabres preview, prediction and analysis
The Washington Capitals will be playing the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday, February 26 in Buffalo, New York.
The Washington Capitals won against the New York Rangers on Saturday, February 25 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 6-3. The Washington Capitals currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division.
Evgeny Kuznetsov had two goals and two assists. T.J. Oshie had two goals and an assist, and Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (29-26-6), who had scored 10 goals during their streak. Alex Ovechkin and Erik Gustafsson each had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.
"Sometimes it's one of those games -- divisional opponent coming in and big rivalry, emotional game -- sometimes those are the ones that you know, a team comes together," Wilson said. "We showed up ready to play, and that can be a momentum builder. We've just got to keep moving forward here in the right direction, but that was a great effort."
Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 4:25 of the first period when he deflected Gustafsson's shot in the slot during a power play. Barclay Goodrow tied it 1-1 at 8:00, deflecting Tyler Motte's shot from along the left boards past Kuemper.
Oshie put the Capitals back in front 2-1 at 3:16 of the second period, taking a pass from Dylan Strome on the rush and scoring glove side from the slot. Oshie had scored two goals in his previous 10 games.
"We've been working real hard regardless of if we've been winning or losing, but working the right way and working for each other, and tonight was no different," Oshie said. "You need your big players to step up. I get paid a lot of money to put offense up on the board, and haven't been doing it as of late, so it felt good to get a couple up there."
Wilson pushed it to 3-1 at 7:05. He received a pass from Trevor van Riemsdyk and skated between Rangers defensemen Adam Fox and Niko Mikkola before beat Shesterkin from in close.
After Oshie hit the post on the rush, Sonny Milano knocked in the loose puck to make it 4-1 at 12:52. Kuznetsov extended the lead to 5-1 with a backhand on a breakaway at 18:19.
Chris Kreider made it 5-2 with a deflection of Fox's shot on a power play at 6:49 of the third period. Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway at 13:22 to make it 6-2, and Kaapo Kakko scored at 19:32 for the 6-3 final.
"I just talked to my dad yesterday," Kuznetsov said. "He's here, so I was like, 'Usually I got like six, seven breakaways a year and I got zero this year.' So I felt I just talked about that stuff with him the day before, and today I got two breakaways, so it's a process."
The Washington Capitals have won three of their last 10 games.
The Buffalo Sabres won against the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida with a score of 3-1. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Craig Anderson made 49 saves for the Buffalo Sabres. The 41-year-old, the oldest active player in the NHL, made 22 saves in the third period for his first win since Jan. 23.
"You just kind of start worrying about just the next shot, and whatever the shot clock got to, it got to," Anderson said. "That's about as good a game as I've played in a while and as good mentally as far as being sharp and being in the moment. That's always tough to do is to stay in the moment and tonight was one of those nights where I was able to do it."
Jeff Skinner scored twice to reach 600 points, and Tage Thompson had three assists for the Sabres (30-23-4), who have won four of five, including a 6-5 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, when Thompson had a hat trick.
"That's a huge win, huge couple of wins," Skinner said. "But I think for us with a big win last night in sort of an emotional way, to follow it up again the next night against a really good team that's playing really well and playing hard, it was nice to see. Hopefully it gives us some confidence moving forward because that's kind of going to be the level for us down the stretch here and we have to bring that every night."
Skinner gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the second period on a give-and-go with Thompson. After Skinner fed him in the slot, Thompson deked defenseman Aaron Ekblad to his backhand and fed the puck back to Skinner on the wing.
"He's dominant," Skinner said about Thompson. "With his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) and his ability to draw guys to him, obviously, he draws a lot of attention now with the production he's had and that opens guys up, opens linemates up for him, and he does a great job finding us. "
Buffalo appeared to take a 2-0 lead at 6:30 on a goal by Henri Jokiharju, but it was nullified when video review determined Alex Tuch preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Tuch made it 2-0 at 8:44 with a power-play goal with a shot from the slot after Owen Power one-timed him a pass from the point. It was Tuch's fourth goal in five games.Carter Verhaeghe cut it to 2-1 at 8:24 of the third period with a shot from the right face-off circle after taking a pass from Duclair.
Skinner made it 3-1 at 10:36 with a shot from a sharp angle over Bobrovsky's right shoulder for his 600th NHL point.
Anderson shut the door the rest of the way.
"Outstanding," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "He makes it look easy as well. Reads plays, reads shooters, obviously he knows how we play and knows the pre-scout of how they're going to play and what's going to come at him. And you can see the calm as a result. He was calm through the entire thing and extremely, extremely efficient in his saves and his postures. A big night for him."
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
It was a lose-lose situation when the Capitals chose who to start in net against the Rangers. Now that they're rolling with Charlie Lindgren against this high-octane offense, this is setting up for a crazy second half for Buffalo. Sabres 5, Capitals 2
The Washington Capitals won against the New York Rangers on Saturday, February 25 at Capital One Arena in Washington with a score of 6-3. The Washington Capitals currently rank 6th in the Metropolitan Division.
Evgeny Kuznetsov had two goals and two assists. T.J. Oshie had two goals and an assist, and Tom Wilson had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (29-26-6), who had scored 10 goals during their streak. Alex Ovechkin and Erik Gustafsson each had two assists, and Darcy Kuemper made 23 saves.
"Sometimes it's one of those games -- divisional opponent coming in and big rivalry, emotional game -- sometimes those are the ones that you know, a team comes together," Wilson said. "We showed up ready to play, and that can be a momentum builder. We've just got to keep moving forward here in the right direction, but that was a great effort."
Oshie gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 4:25 of the first period when he deflected Gustafsson's shot in the slot during a power play. Barclay Goodrow tied it 1-1 at 8:00, deflecting Tyler Motte's shot from along the left boards past Kuemper.
Oshie put the Capitals back in front 2-1 at 3:16 of the second period, taking a pass from Dylan Strome on the rush and scoring glove side from the slot. Oshie had scored two goals in his previous 10 games.
"We've been working real hard regardless of if we've been winning or losing, but working the right way and working for each other, and tonight was no different," Oshie said. "You need your big players to step up. I get paid a lot of money to put offense up on the board, and haven't been doing it as of late, so it felt good to get a couple up there."
Wilson pushed it to 3-1 at 7:05. He received a pass from Trevor van Riemsdyk and skated between Rangers defensemen Adam Fox and Niko Mikkola before beat Shesterkin from in close.
After Oshie hit the post on the rush, Sonny Milano knocked in the loose puck to make it 4-1 at 12:52. Kuznetsov extended the lead to 5-1 with a backhand on a breakaway at 18:19.
Chris Kreider made it 5-2 with a deflection of Fox's shot on a power play at 6:49 of the third period. Kuznetsov scored on a breakaway at 13:22 to make it 6-2, and Kaapo Kakko scored at 19:32 for the 6-3 final.
"I just talked to my dad yesterday," Kuznetsov said. "He's here, so I was like, 'Usually I got like six, seven breakaways a year and I got zero this year.' So I felt I just talked about that stuff with him the day before, and today I got two breakaways, so it's a process."
The Washington Capitals have won three of their last 10 games.
The Buffalo Sabres won against the Florida Panthers at FLA Live Arena in Sunrise, Florida with a score of 3-1. The Buffalo Sabres currently rank 4th in the Atlantic Division.
Craig Anderson made 49 saves for the Buffalo Sabres. The 41-year-old, the oldest active player in the NHL, made 22 saves in the third period for his first win since Jan. 23.
"You just kind of start worrying about just the next shot, and whatever the shot clock got to, it got to," Anderson said. "That's about as good a game as I've played in a while and as good mentally as far as being sharp and being in the moment. That's always tough to do is to stay in the moment and tonight was one of those nights where I was able to do it."
Jeff Skinner scored twice to reach 600 points, and Tage Thompson had three assists for the Sabres (30-23-4), who have won four of five, including a 6-5 overtime win at the Tampa Bay Lightning on Thursday, when Thompson had a hat trick.
"That's a huge win, huge couple of wins," Skinner said. "But I think for us with a big win last night in sort of an emotional way, to follow it up again the next night against a really good team that's playing really well and playing hard, it was nice to see. Hopefully it gives us some confidence moving forward because that's kind of going to be the level for us down the stretch here and we have to bring that every night."
Skinner gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 3:51 of the second period on a give-and-go with Thompson. After Skinner fed him in the slot, Thompson deked defenseman Aaron Ekblad to his backhand and fed the puck back to Skinner on the wing.
"He's dominant," Skinner said about Thompson. "With his size (6-foot-6, 220 pounds) and his ability to draw guys to him, obviously, he draws a lot of attention now with the production he's had and that opens guys up, opens linemates up for him, and he does a great job finding us. "
Buffalo appeared to take a 2-0 lead at 6:30 on a goal by Henri Jokiharju, but it was nullified when video review determined Alex Tuch preceded the puck into the offensive zone.
Tuch made it 2-0 at 8:44 with a power-play goal with a shot from the slot after Owen Power one-timed him a pass from the point. It was Tuch's fourth goal in five games.Carter Verhaeghe cut it to 2-1 at 8:24 of the third period with a shot from the right face-off circle after taking a pass from Duclair.
Skinner made it 3-1 at 10:36 with a shot from a sharp angle over Bobrovsky's right shoulder for his 600th NHL point.
Anderson shut the door the rest of the way.
"Outstanding," Sabres coach Don Granato said. "He makes it look easy as well. Reads plays, reads shooters, obviously he knows how we play and knows the pre-scout of how they're going to play and what's going to come at him. And you can see the calm as a result. He was calm through the entire thing and extremely, extremely efficient in his saves and his postures. A big night for him."
The Buffalo Sabres have won five of their last 10 games.
Prediction
It was a lose-lose situation when the Capitals chose who to start in net against the Rangers. Now that they're rolling with Charlie Lindgren against this high-octane offense, this is setting up for a crazy second half for Buffalo. Sabres 5, Capitals 2
Betting trends
Capitals are 35-17 in the last 52 meetings.
Favorite is 42-19 in the last 61 meetings.
Sabres are 4-1 in their last five against a team with a losing record.
Projected lines
Capitals:
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Craig Smith -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Conor Sheary
Lars Eller -- Nic Dowd -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Matt Irwin -- Dylan McIlrath
Charlie Lindgren
Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Sonny Milano -- Dylan Strome -- T.J. Oshie
Craig Smith -- Nicklas Backstrom -- Conor Sheary
Lars Eller -- Nic Dowd -- Nicolas Aube-Kubel
Martin Fehervary -- Nick Jensen
Erik Gustafsson -- Trevor van Riemsdyk
Matt Irwin -- Dylan McIlrath
Charlie Lindgren
Sabres:
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka -- Dylan Cozens -- Victor Olofsson
Casey Mittelstadt -- Peyton Krebs -- Jack Quinn
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Kale Clague -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Jeff Skinner -- Tage Thompson -- Alex Tuch
JJ Peterka -- Dylan Cozens -- Victor Olofsson
Casey Mittelstadt -- Peyton Krebs -- Jack Quinn
Zemgus Girgensons -- Tyson Jost -- Kyle Okposo
Mattias Samuelsson -- Rasmus Dahlin
Owen Power -- Henri Jokiharju
Kale Clague -- Ilya Lyubushkin
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
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Chuck Sommers
About the Author:
Chuck Sommers has camped outside of sportsbooks since he can remember, learning the tricks and nuances of the trade. He still has nightmares of betting $5,000 on the Raiders in the Tuck Rule game but has since turned that to 25 years of veteran handicapping greatness. You can find him mostly in the shadows at the Red Rock or Aliante casinos wondering if the over is cashing on any given Sunday.
