Caps snap skid against struggling Sabres

Hockey Betting Lines

03/03/2010 - Buffalo, NY (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - Mike Green's third period goal proved to be the game-winner, as the Washington Capitals downed the Buffalo Sabres, 3-1, at HSBC Arena.

Jason Chimera and Boyd Gordon each scored a goal while Jose Theodore made 23 stops for the Capitals, who had dropped three straight prior to the Olympic break.

The Capitals were busy during Wednesday's trade deadline as the team made a total of four trades in anticipation of a deep playoff run.

Among its acquisitions were center Eric Belanger from the Wild and forward Scott Walker from the Hurricanes. Both cost the Capitals draft picks, a second-rounder for Belanger and a 2010 seventh-round pick in exchange for Walker. Additional new members of the Caps are defensemen Joe Corvo and Milan Jurcina. Carolina got defenseman Brian Pothier, forward Oskar Osala and a 2011 second-round pick from Washington for Corvo and the Blue Jackets received a conditional draft pick for Jurcina.

Jochen Hecht scored the lone goal for the Sabres, who are in the midst of a slump with eight losses in their last nine games.

Ryan Miller, who grabbed MVP honors at the Vancouver Olympics for guiding Team USA to a silver medal, received a standing ovation from the crowd before the game and finished with 37 saves.

Buffalo made just one deal at the trade deadline as the team acquired a third and fourth-round pick in the 2010 draft from the Thrashers in exchange for forward Clarke MacArthur.

With the score tied in the third period, Washington took the lead with 9:32 to play in the game.

Tomas Fleischmann skated the puck from the slot over to the right circle and passed back to Green in the slot for a one-timer that lit the lamp for his 15th goal of the season.

Gordon then sealed the win in the final minute with an empty-net goal.

After a scoreless first period that saw each goaltender make 11 saves, the Capitals took a 1-0 lead at the 15:23 mark of the second period. Jeff Schultz threw a shot on net from the right point that Chimera eventually tipped past Miller.

Buffalo, though, scored exactly one minute later as Hecht grabbed a loose puck at the right circle and snapped a quick wrister into the net.

Game Notes

Washington hosts Tampa Bay on Thursday....Buffalo returns home to face Philadelphia on Friday...Washington took three of four against Buffalo this season.

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Big East Conference odds

Work left to do: Villanova, Syracuse, DePaul, West Virginia, Providence

Notre Dame and Louisville appear to have done enough to make the move, so we'll make them locks. The Cardinals, despite a modest RPI, are trending way up and have clinched at least a tie for third in the Big East, which should be more than enough with their pair of big road wins. Villanova got back to .500 and gets back to more solid footing. Syracuse got a very important road win and crippled a fellow contender in the process. West Virginia's fate could be in its hands Tuesday at Pitt.

Work left to do:

Villanova [18-9 (7-7), RPI: 21, SOS: 5] Pounded Rutgers to get back to .500. If Cats can get their last two (at UConn, vs. Syracuse), that should be enough with strong computer numbers and a host of wins away from The Pavilion. The Cats have beaten Texas and swept the Big 5 (never easy in Philly), but have a couple of losses to bubble teams (Xavier, Drexel), too. I still think they'll be OK, possibly even at 8-8.

Syracuse [20-8 (9-5), RPI: 53, SOS: 62] History says 10 wins will be plenty, but it might be hard for the Orange to get that last one with a final two vs. G'town, which is trying to win the league title, and at Villanova, which will be desperate for a W. The relative lack of nonconference heft and the weak computer numbers are still concerns, but the Orange have won four in a row and got a very, very big win at Providence on Saturday.

DePaul [16-12 (8-7), RPI: 54, SOS: 18] Beat Cincy and should get past South Florida to get to 9-7, but then what? They have beaten Kansas and Cal (right after the DeVon Hardin injury) earlier this season, but also have lost to Bradley and Purdue, among others. They'll likely need a couple of BE tourney wins, too, but we'll see ...

West Virginia [19-7 (8-6), RPI: 58, SOS: 125] The game at Pitt on Tuesday night could decide the Mountaineers' fate (barring a deep tournament run). They can still get to 9-7 in the Big East without it by beating Cincinnati, but the nine wins would be against UConn, Villanova, St. John's, South Florida, DePaul, Rutgers, Seton Hall twice and the Bearcats. Beating bubble foes is fine, but where's the beef? Outside of beating PG-less UCLA in nonconference play (still a top quality win), there's not a lot to fall back on (besides maybe NC State). WVU vs. Syracuse would be an interesting debate, as the teams don't play in the Big East regular season. WVU has the best win, but Cuse has played the much better schedule.

Providence [17-10 (7-7), RPI: 70, SOS: 33] The Friars likely saw their at-large hopes die at home in the four-point loss to Syracuse, barring an unexpected run to the Big East semis or more. The RPI, bad already, won't be helped by playing St. John's and South Florida in the final two league games.

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