Buffalo Sabres (19-9-4 42pts) v. Washington Capitals (19-9-3 41pts)

Game Recap:

For the second night in a row the Washington Capitals go to the shootout to continue their winning streak at five games. However it showed some of the same problems the Capitals had the previous night as they did in Carolina when they took on the Buffalo Sabres. The Capitals continue to have problems taking penalties, especially early in the game/period that they need to fix, plus their penalty killing is still a weakness that needs to be fixed.

Lineups:

Buffalo Sabres:

Jeff Skinner – Jack Eichel — Sam Reinhart

Conor Sheary – Casey Mittelstadt – Kyle Okposo

Tage Thompson – Vladimir Sobotka – Jason Pominville

Evan Rodrigues – Johan Larsson – Zemgus Girgensons

Rasmus Dahlin – Zach Bogosian

Lawrence Pilut – Rasmus Ristolainen

Nathan Beaulieu – Matt Tennyson

Carter Hutton

Linus Ullmark

Scratched: Remi Elie

Injured: Marco Scandella (upper body), Jake McCabe (lower body), Casey Nelson (upper body), Scott Wilson (ankle), Matt Hunwick (neck)

Suspended: Patrik Berglund

Washington Capitals:

Alex Ovechkin — Nicklas Backstrom – T.J. Oshie

Jakub Vrana – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Tom Wilson

Brett Connolly – Lars Eller – Devante Smith-Pelly

Chandler Stephenson – Nic Dowd – Travis Boyd

Michal Kempny – John Carlson

Dmitry Orlov – Matt Niskanen

Jonas Siegenthaler – Madison Bowey

Pheonix Copley

Braden Holtby

Scratched: Andre Burakovsky, Dmitrij Jaskin, Tyler Lewington

Injured: Christian Djoos (leg), Brooks Orpik (knee)

First Period:

Capitals Penalty – :41 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for High Sticking

Sabres Goal – 2:41 – Jack Eichel (11) from Sam Reinhart (20) and Rasmus Dahlin (13)

Capitals Goal – 3:39 – Brett Connolly (7) from Devante Smith-Pelly (3)

Capitals Goal – 9:41 – Jakub Vrana (10) from Evgeny Kuznetsov (24)

Sabres Penalty – 10:12 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Tripping

End of 1st – BUF – 1       WAS – 2

Shots              08                10

Faceoffs         05                12

Hits               06                  10

PP                 0/1                 0/1

Analysis:

The Capitals did not have a good start to this game by taking a penalty in the first minute of the game, and then just as the penalty ended gave up the first goal of the game, but the way the Capitals was responded was really good. Pressuring Carter Hutton to cough up the puck so the Capitals could tie the game was very well done and then Evgeny Kuznetsov feeding Jakub Vrana with a beautiful pass to give the Capitals a 2-1 lead.

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box. The Sabres are playing very good hockey and you don’t want to give them any chances. Also the Capitals need to clean up their passing and the play in their own zone. Lastly, the Capitals need to cut down on the fancy passing and get the pucks to the net.

Second Period:

Capitals Penalty – :50 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Hooking

Sabres PPG – 2:25 – Jack Eichel (12) from Rasmus Dahlin (14) and Rasmus Ristolainen (18)

Capitals Penalty – 6:10 – Madison Bowey 2 minutes for Hooking

Sabres PPG – 7:21 – Rasmus Dahlin (3) from Jeff Skinner (11) and Sam Reinhart (21)

Sabres Penalty – 8:12 – Tage Thompson 2 minutes for Interference

Capitals Penalty – 11:51 – Michal Kempny 2 minutes for Roughing

Sabres Penalty – 11:51 – Sam Reinhart 2 minutes for Slashing

Capitals Goal – 13:46 – Alex Ovechkin (29) from Nicklas Backstrom (30) and Dmitry Orlov (10)

Sabres Penalty -14:42 – Zach Bogosian 2 minutes for Hooking

End of 2nd – BUF – 3        WAS – 3

Shots               17                 25

Faceoffs          19                 21

Hits                 13                  19

PP                   2/3                  0/3

Analysis:

Once again not a good start the period as the Capitals took another penalty in the first minute of the period that resulted in a goal, this time while the penalty was still being served. Then with sloppy play in their own zone, the Sabres would capitalize and score to give themselves the lead. Good job by Dmitry Orlov to pinch in an force the turnover and have it lead to an Alex Ovechkin goal.

Need to Do:

The Capitals need to stay out of the penalty box. They have had three penalties against them and all 3 have resulted in goals against. Also the Capitals need to mix up their powerplay unit a bit.

Third Period:

Sabres Penalty – :16 – Marco Scandella 2 minutes for Delay of Game

End of 3rd – BUF – 3         WAS – 3

Shots              21                   35

Faceoffs        25                    30

Hits               16                     30

PP                 2/3                    0/4

OT:

Sabres Penalty – 3:29 – Evan Rodrigues 2 minutes for Roughing

Capitals Penalty – 3:29 – TJ Oshie 2 minutes for Roughing

End of OT – BUF – 3         WAS – 3

Shots              28                   38

Faceoffs        27                    31

Hits               16                     32

PP                 2/3                    0/4

Shootout:

WAS – TJ Oshie – Save

BUF – Jack Eichel – Miss

WAS – Evgeny Kuznetsov – Goal

BUF – Tage Thompson – Save

WAS – Nicklas Backstrom – Miss

BUF – Casey Mittelstadt – Goal

WAS – Alex Ovechkin – Goal

BUR – Jason Pominville – Save

End of SO – BUF 3     WAS 4

Analysis:

Overall it was an ok period for the Capitals, but they were a little too fancy with the puck. In OT the Sabres were the dominant team.

Next Up:

Washington (20-9-3 43pts) v. Pittsburgh (15-11-6 36pts)

Buffalo (19-9-5 43pts) v. Boston (17-11-4 38pts)