Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres' three-game winning streak ended on Friday night with the Washington Capitals defeating the home team, 4-3 in a shootout at KeyBank Center.
Anthony Mantha opened the scoring with his seventh goal of the season nearly halfway through the opening period. He completed the play after tic-tac-toe passing by Nicklas Backstrom and Tom Wilson helped create the scoring chance. Both forwards received assists on the goal that made it 1-0 Washington.
Jeff Skinner answered for the Sabres minutes later with a backhand shot that deflected off of a Washington defenseman and past goalie Ilya Samsonov to tie the score at 1-1. The goal was Skinner's 25th of the season and came on just the second shot on goal for Buffalo.
Michal Kempny was called for the first penalty of the night. The defenseman took a slashing minor penalty with under two minutes to go in the opening period. However, the Sabres failed to score on their opening chance with the man advantage.
Nick Jensen scored just over four minutes into the second period to restore the Capitals' one-goal lead, 2-1. The defenseman was able to skate in from the blue line and wire a wrist shot through traffic for his fifth goal of the season.
Skinner scored his second goal of the night midway through the second period to, once again, tie the game, this time at 2-2. Mattias Samuelsson was able to keep the puck in the offensive zone and eventually pass the puck to the forward for his 26th goal of the season.
The goal helped Skinner join elite company this season.
The Sabres took a 3-2 lead just over two minutes later when Victor Olofsson scored his 12th goal of the year.
Washington returned the favor on Buffalo nearly three minutes later when Alex Ovechkin recorded his 41st goal of the season. Evgeny Kuznetsov recorded the lone assist on the goal that tied the score at 3-3.
Mark Pysyk was penalized for interference part way through the third period, giving Washington their first power play chance of the night. The Capitals had several scoring chances, but Buffalo was able to kill off the minor penalty.
Neither team could score in the third period. The Sabres were credited with five shots on goal, while Dustin Tokarski stopped all nine Washington shots on goal.
After a scoreless overtime, the Sabres took part in their second-straight game with a shootout to decide the winner.
After getting an opening round goal from Tage Thompson, the Sabres failed to close things out, as Casey Mittelstadt was stopped by Samsonov in the next round, while Alex Tuch missed the net in the third round.
As for the Capitals, they get goals in Rounds 2 and 3 to capture the win, as Kuznetsov scored the shootout-tying goal and Ovechkin sealed the win shortly after.
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GAME RECAP
Scoring Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 15:49 - Jeff Skinner (25) (Tage Thompson)
WSH: 9:15 - Anthony Mantha (7) (Nicklas Backstrom, Tom Wilson)
Second Period:
BUF: 10:23 - Jeff Skinner (26) (Mattias Samuelsson); 12:55 - Victor Olofsson (12) (Casey Mittelstadt, Rasmus Asplund)
WSH: 4:06 - Nick Jensen (5) (Dimitry Orlov, Conor Sheary); 16:47 - Alexander Ovechkin (41) (Evgeny Kuznetsov)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
WSH: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
WSH: NONE
Shootout
BUF: Tage Thompson - GOAL
WSH: Nicklas Backstrom - Miss
BUF: Casey Mittelstadt - Save
WSH: Evgeny Kuznetsov - GOAL
BUF: Alex Tuch - Miss
WSH: Alexander Ovechkin - GOAL
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: NONE
WSH: 18:16 - Michal Kempny (Slashing - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 16:59 - Jeff Skinner (Holding - 2 min.)
WSH: 16:59 - Garnet Hathaway (Roughing - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: 12:03 - Mark Pysyk (Interference - 2 min.)
WSH: NONE
Overtime:
BUF: NONE
WSH: NONE
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Jeff Skinner - BUF
2.) Tage Thompson - BUF
3.) Alexander Ovechkin - WSH
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What's next:
The blue and gold will head out on the road this weekend before returning home next week. Buffalo will face the New York Rangers on Sunday at Madison Square Garden for a 5 p.m. ET faceoff. Catch all of the action on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550 starting with the pregame at 4 p.m. ET with Brian Koziol.
