Capitals at Sabres preview

CAPITALS (34-20-7) at SABRES (28-24-8)
1 p.m. ET; NHLN, SN, MSG-B, NBCSWA, NHL.TV

Washington acquired Hagelin from the Los Angeles Kings on Thursday for a third-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft and a conditional sixth-round pick in 2020.
The Capitals, winners of two straight and 6-2-1 in their past nine games, are second in the Metropolitan Division, two points behind the New York Islanders.
The Sabres have lost four in a row (0-3-1) and have been outscored 15-6 during the streak. They've scored two goals or fewer in five of their past six games. Buffalo trails the Carolina Hurricanes by six points for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

Players to watch

Capitals forward Alex Ovechkin has five goals in a four-game goal streak and 18 points (10 goals, eight assists) in his past 12 games.
Sabres forward Jeff Skinner has seven points (five goals, two assists) in his past eight games and is one goal away from tying his NHL career high of 37, set in 2016-17 with the Hurricanes.

They said it

"I had a sense that it was going to happen; all the other ones kind of shocked me. This one, I knew there was a big possibility of me getting traded because it was the last year of my deal, and obviously I am happy that I ended up here." -- Capitals forward Carl Hagelin
"We've got to carry the same effort forward and show some consistency in our game because you can see when we play our style of game, it gives us a chance for success. -- Sabres coach Phil Housley

Capitals projected lineup

Alex Ovechkin -- Evgeny Kuznetsov -- Tom Wilson
Jakub Vrana -- Nicklas Backstrom -- T.J. Oshie
Andre Burakovsky -- Lars Eller -- Brett Connolly
Carl Hagelin -- Nic Dowd -- Chandler Stephenson
Michal Kempny -- John Carlson
Dmitry Orlov -- Matt Niskanen
Brooks Orpik -- Christian Djoos
Braden Holtby
Pheonix Copley
Scratched: Dmitrij Jaskin, Travis Boyd, Nick Jensen
Injured: None

Sabres projected lineup

Jeff Skinner -- Jack Eichel -- Evan Rodrigues
Conor Sheary -- Casey Mittelstadt -- Sam Reinhart
Zemgus Girgensons -- Johan Larsson -- Jason Pominville
C.J. Smith -- Vladimir Sobotka -- Tage Thompson
Jake McCabe -- Rasmus Ristolainen
Rasmus Dahlin -- Zach Bogosian
Nathan Beaulieu -- Matt Hunwick
Carter Hutton
Linus Ullmark
Scratched: Casey Nelson, Danny O'Regan, Scott Wilson
Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Kyle Okposo (concussion)

Status report

The Sabres recalled O'Regan and Wilson assigned defenseman Lawrence Pilut to Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday. Okposo was placed on injured reserve. … The Capitals signed Jensen to a four-year contract shortly after he was acquired, along with a fifth-round pick in the 2019 NHL Draft, from the Detroit Red Wings for defenseman Madison Bowey and a second-round pick in 2020. … Capitals coach Todd Reirden wasn't sure after practice Friday when Jensen would join the team, but said they were "looking to get him here as soon as possible and go from there."

Stat pack

Eichel has 11 points (three goals, eight assists) in his past 10 games. … Carlson has six points (one goal, five assists) in a four-game point streak.