The good news for the Caps is up front. Hershey got Jonny Brodzinski back, which is the tell that Pierre-Luc Dubois is close after missing 5 games with an illness. He skated in a regular jersey Wednesday and looks on track for Saturday. Justin Sourdif has missed 2 games with his own illness and is listed day-to-day. Getting 1 or both of them back gives Spencer Carbery a fuller forward group than he's had in a couple of weeks.
Look at where Washington has been losing. The Caps have dropped 2 of their last 4 at Capital One Arena, and both losses came with 5 goals allowed, to Seattle and to Los Angeles. The wins over Montreal and New Jersey came when the offense covered for it. Buffalo's last 3 road games were all decided by a single goal: a 5-4 win in Toronto and 2 separate 4-3 losses in Montreal. The Sabres hang around on the road. They just haven't closed.
Buffalo's injury list is mostly on the back end. Alex Lyon had a setback and has no timeline, so Colten Ellis has been carrying the net. Matt Grzelcyk, Conor Timmins and Jack Rathbone are all on IR, which has the blue line stretched thin. Jason Zucker's return from August sports hernia surgery helps a forward group that has gone missing over its last couple of games. Justin Danforth is out with an upper-body injury, and Sam Carrick just went on IR.
Puck drops at 7:00 PM ET on Saturday, October 24. The first thing to watch is who's in Washington's crease. With Thompson in, this is a .500-ish Caps team at home against a Sabres team that can't buy a goal right now. With Lindgren in, against a Buffalo defense held together with tape, it could turn into the kind of track meet both clubs have been playing all month.