Morning Skate | Asplund to join lineup vs. Washington

Rasmus Asplund will step into the lineup in place of Cody Eakin when the Buffalo Sabres host the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center on Monday.
Asplund has appeared in four games for Buffalo this season. He has skated with the taxi squad since last appearing against New Jersey on Feb. 25.
"We've spoken about potential rotations and making sure players that are really working hard in the taxi squad get opportunity to bring energy into the team," Sabres coach Ralph Krueger said. "Cody will be sitting out today's game and we're pleased to see Rasmus Asplund back in."

Eakin has four points (1+3) in 26 games this season. He has been deployed largely in a defensive role, checking other teams' top lines and contributing on the penalty kill, though Krueger said the team will be looking for more offensive contributions from him in the absence of captain Jack Eichel.
"He has been a good penalty killer for us," Krueger said. "He has been a good faceoff man for us. He's a character player for us. … We will be speaking to him more about that type of (offensive) input. Moving forward, we do need depth scoring and he can be a very valuable source of that. So, we're looking at the different ways that we can bring into the game."
The Sabres are seeking to snap a 10-game winless streak (0-8-2) that continued with a shutout loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins at home on Thursday.
"We need to get going," defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen said. "I feel like we need one win and we relieve the pressure in the team and then maybe we can put some more wins together."

The lineup

Matt Irwin will join the lineup on defense, replacing Brandon Davidson. Carter Hutton was the first goaltender off the ice at the morning skate, suggesting he'll make his second straight start.
Here's how the Sabres lined up in full:
68 Victor Olofsson - 12 Eric Staal - 23 Sam Reinhart
4 Taylor Hall - 15 Riley Sheahan - 72 Tage Thompson
53 Jeff Skinner - 27 Curtis Lazar - 37 Casey Mittelstadt
13 Tobias Rieder - 74 Rasmus Asplund - 21 Kyle Okposo
78 Jacob Bryson - 55 Rasmus Ristolainen
44 Matt Irwin - 62 Brandon Montour
26 Rasmus Dahlin - 33 Colin Miller

Scouting the Capitals

Alex Ovechkin is on the precipice of history once again, one goal shy of tying Phil Esposito for sixth on the NHL's all-time list (717). Marcel Dionne is fifth at 731.
"When his chances come, and they always come here and there, he is as aggressive on those chances as if it's his last opportunity every time," Krueger said. "What an example of finishing. Not only does he have the skill, but he has the grit that goes with it all the time."
Ovechkin scored his 10th goal of the season in a 5-4 win for the Capitals over Philadelphia on Saturday, their fourth victory in a row and eighth in the past nine games.

Tune in

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. You can also listen to the game on WGR 550. The puck drops at 7.