The Capitals finished with a 40-31-11 record (91 points), seven points ahead of Buffalo.
The Buffalo Sabres took a step back after barely missing the playoffs in 2023, finishing seven points out of the final Eastern Conference wildcard spot with a 39-37-6 record (84 points). The regression cost head coach Don Granato his job and put more pressure on GM Kevyn Adams to snap the league’s longest playoff drought of 13 seasons.
Adams brought back veteran head coach Lindy Ruff to stress accountability and has made trades and free agent signings to remedy the Sabres depth and defensive issues, but the question now is whether they are as good or better than their competition in the Eastern Conference.
The Washington Capitals surprisingly made the playoffs, beating out Detroit for the last Eastern Conference wild-card spot on a tiebreaker, but were outmatched and swept by the New York Rangers in the first round. GM Brian MacLellan appeared to be in rebuild mode going into last season with rookie head coach Spencer Carbery taking over and piecing together a roster that had trouble generating offense but found ways to win.
This summer, the Capitals exchanged underachievers, swapping goalie Darcy Kuemper to Los Angeles for center Pierre-Luc Dubois, traded Nick Jensen for defenseman Jakob Chychrun, acquired winger Andrew Mangiapane from Calgary and Logan Thompson from Vegas, and signed free agents Brandon Duhaime and Matt Roy.
Forwards
Washington scored only 220 goals last season and had the worst goal differential (-37) of any playoff team. Alex Ovechkin struggled most of the first half but surged late in the season to lead the club with 31 goals. Tom Wilson was sluggish after returning from a serious knee injury, and Dylan Strome led the club with 67 points.
Veterans Nicklas Backstrom and TJ Oshie are likely to spend the entire season on LTIR, which means that Carbery will be relying on Dubois to bounce back from a disappointing 40-point season with LA, and Mangiapane to provide some goals. The Sabres are stronger up the middle with Tage Thompson and Dylan Cozens and acquired a healthy chunk of the Caps fourth line with the acquisition of Beck Malenstyn, and the signing of Nicolas Aube-Kubel.
Although youngsters Connor McMichael, Ivan Miroshnichenko, and Hendrix Lapierre could help boost Washington’s production, the Sabres appear to have more options and better depth up front.
Defense
The addition of Chychrun and Roy provide a definite upgrade to Washington’s blueline, joining veteran John Carlson, Rasmus Sandin, and depth defenders Trevor van Riemsdyk, Martin Fehervary, and Ethan Bear, but the Sabres top
top three of Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, and Bowen Byram, to go along with Henri Jokiharju, Mattias Samuelsson, and Connor Clifton give Buffalo an advantage at the top end and depth.
Goaltending
Carbery rode backup Charlie Lindgren hard for the entire second half with Kuemper putting up a sub .900 save percentage. The addition of Thompson will allow Washington the flexibility of splitting the workload or leaning heavily on the former Golden Knight, who played 46 games last season. The Sabres with Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and Devon Levi will be relying on head coach Lindy Ruff stressing more accountability and better defense, but the Sabres duo has more high-end potential and gives them an edge over Washington.
Outlook
Washington will be challenged to get into the playoffs this season in spite of being improved in all three areas, but Ovechkin’s pursuit of Wayne Gretzky’s career goal record could provide some impetus. The Capitals will likely be in that bubble group of five or six teams along with the Sabres battling for the Eastern Conference wildcard spot and could be in a tight battle at the end of the season where a point or two will be the difference between making or missing the postseason.
