On Friday evening, the Washington Capitals travel to the City of Good Neighbors in Buffalo to take on the Sabres. Let's dive into our NHL odds series, which includes a Capitals-Sabres prediction and pick.

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It appears the Capitals are finding their groove at the exact right time. Winners of four straight games away from home and looking to make it five straight against the Buffalo Sabres, Washington was victorious when these two teams last met on Dec. 11 by a score of 3-2. The Capitals currently sit at 35-20-10 heading into the final stretch of regular-season play.

Speaking of playing complementary hockey, the Buffalo Sabres are playing at their absolute best with only 18 games remaining. While it may be too little, too late for Buffalo, they have still won five of their last six games and are eager to get their first win versus their Eastern Conference rivals of the season. Buffalo enters Friday's contest 12th in the conference at 23-33-8.

Here are the Capitals-Sabres NHL Odds, courtesy of FanDuel.

NHL odds: Capitals-Sabres Odds

Washington Capitals: -1.5 (+122)

Buffalo Sabres: +1.5 (-150)

Over: 6.5 (-128)

Under: 6.5 (+104)

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Why the Capitals Could Cover the Spread

Since the Caps started the regular season with a string of losses, Washington hasn't had much time to look in the rearview mirror. As the early-season struggles were mostly figured out by the halfway point, the Capitals have played fundamentally sound for the most part. Yes, Washington has lost its previous two games, but keep in mind that the Capitals have been shorthanded, as two of their best players are expected to return to the lineup in forwards Nic Dowd and T.J. Oshie.

A team that has postseason aspirations in mind, the nation's capital's men on ice have had Buffalo's number through out the better part of the 2021-2022 campaign, edging out the Sabres 2-0 in the season series. If the Capitals are wanting to continue their recent road dominance and cover the spread on Friday night, a plentiful amount of goals will need to put in the back of the net. The Caps are ranked within the top 10 of the NHL in goals scored per game, and are even only allowing 2.82 goals per game to opposing teams. Washington will cover if it can stick to the script of what it's best at, and that's being an all-around stellar squad.

Why the Sabres Could Cover the Spread

Even though this team is situated among the bottom half of the league in many statistical categories, the Sabres are streaking! With no hope of clinching a playoff berth and the offseason quickly approaching, all Buffalo can do during this remaining season slate is play spoiler to teams like Washington and to instill a sense of pride in preparation for next year. During their stretch of fabulous play, winger Tage Thompson has been Buffalo's best contributor, compiling 48 points on 27 goals and 21 assists in his last 10 games played.

The Sabres do indeed have a losing record at home at 12-16-4 and are facing off with a Caps bunch that has excelled as the visitor at 20-7-5, but that does not factor how good the Sabres have been playing in the final weeks of March. The biggest factor of the game should be the savvy veteran in goaltender Craig Anderson, who has a career record of 11-9-2 with a 2.61 GAA, .915 save percentage and two shutouts versus Washington.

Final Capitals-Sabres Prediction & Pick

While Buffalo is playing some great hockey of late, Washington is still the more talented group. The Capitals are playing well and will cover on the road in Buffalo.

Final Capitals-Sabres Pick: Capitals -1.5 (+126)