Washington, D.C. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres were unable to hold onto two multi-goal leads in the third period on Wednesday night, as the Washington Capitals played comeback in shootout fashion, 5-4, at Capital One Arena in the nation's capital.
The Sabres got the scoring started less than five minutes into the affair. Ilya Lyubushkin tied his career-high in goals with his second of the year, a wrist shot that found the net thanks, in part, to a great screen from captain Kyle Okposo.
Four minutes later, the Sabres were at it again. The "Kid" line showed off their budding skills, as Jack Quinn and JJ Peterka teamed up for Peterka's ninth goal of his rookie campaign.
The Capitals got a goal back a little over a minute later on a power play, but the Sabres had one more response in them before opening period's end.
Leading 2-1, Tyson Jost was the beneficiary of a neutral zone giveaway caused by dogged determination by Casey Mittelstadt. Jost showed off a slick pair of hands, as he wired his seventh goal of the 2022-23 season past goalie Charlie Lindgren.
After a scoreless second period, the teams mirrored the results of the first period and found themselves tied at 4-4 after 60 minutes of play.
After a goal from Evgeny Kuznetsov closed the gap early in the third period to 3-2, Zemgus Girgensons scored the Sabres' fourth goal, as he was the beneficiary of a beautiful setup from Peyton Krebs in-behind the Washington net.
After Alex Ovechkin scored with 9:30 remaining on the clock to cut the deficit to 4-3, the Capitals turned up the heat in an attempt to get the game tied.
Tom Wilson was able to get that game-tying tally with 1:08 left to play while Washington boasted a 6-on-4 advantage. Alex Tuch was in the box for Buffalo, while the Capitals had the extra skater with the net empty.
A scoreless overtime period brought on the shootout, where the Capitals made quick work of Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen and the Sabres. Kuznetsov and T.J. Oshie both scored against Luukkonen, while Lindgren stopped both Tuch and Tage Thompson for Buffalo.
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GAME RECAP:
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 4:43 - Ilya Lyubushkin (2) (Peyton Krebs, Riley Stillman); 8:50 - JJ Peterka (9) (Jack Quinn); 18:06 - Tyson Jost (7) (Unassisted)
WSH: 10:03 - TJ Oshie (18) PPG (Dylan Strome, Alex Ovechkin)
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
WSH: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 5:22 - Zemgus Girgensons (9) (Peyton Krebs, Owen Power)
WSH: 1:32 - Evgeny Kuznetsov (12) (Alexander Alexeyev, TJ Oshie); 10:30 - Alex Ovechkin (37) (Trevor van Riemsdyk, Dylan Strome); 18:52 - Tom Wilson (8) PPG (Nicklas Backstrom)
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
WSH: NONE
Shootout:
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov (WSH) - GOAL
BUF: Alex Tuch - Miss
WSH: TJ Oshie (WSH) - GOAL
BUF: Tage Thompson - Miss
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 9:46 - Riley Stillman (Interference - 2 min.)
WSH: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: NONE
WSH: 4:01 - Nick Jensen (Holding - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 17:36 - Alex Tuch (Roughing - 2 min.)
WSH: 16:18 - Alex Ovechkin (Slashing - 2 min.)
Overtime:
BUF: 4:03 - Dylan Cozens (Tripping - 2 min.)
WSH: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Alex Ovechkin - WSH
2.) TJ Oshie - WSH
3.) Peyton Krebs - BUF
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What's next:
Buffalo's road trip ends in Philadelphia against the Flyers on Friday at Wells Fargo Center. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m. ET with pregame coverage on WGR starting at 6 p.m. ET with Mike Schopp and the Bulldog.