Caps Drop Sabres, 3-1

For the second straight game, Caps goaltender Vitek Vanecek carried a shutout into the back half of the third period in Thursday night's game against the Buffalo Sabres at Capital One Arena. And for the second time in as many games, Vanecek was dented for one late goal in the third, but happily settled for a 3-1 victory, his seventh of the season, tied for the most among rookie NHL netminders.

"I'm feeling better and better, and the guys played good today," says Vanecek. "They were clearing the pucks and blocking the shots, so it was a great win."
Two nights after taking down the Penguins in Pittsburgh, the Caps opened a five-game homestand on a winning note with their fourth victory in five games against the Sabres this season.
"It was a good win," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "It was good defensively. I still think there has got to be more to give offensively, but defensively I thought the last few games have been pretty tight."
Buffalo dropped its fourth straight game, and the Sabres have managed only one goal at 5-on-5 during those four contests.

"Structurally, we liked the effort and the neutralizing of Washington in a lot of phases of the game," says Sabres coach Ralph Krueger. "But there is not enough up front for us to get away with winning games if we score one goal or no goals."
The first period was a snappy one, but also a sloppy one. Only 11 face-offs were needed, but the long stretches between whistles produced little in the way of scintillating hockey; there were a few posts clanked and a fair amount of passes that failed to click on both sides.
Late in the frame, Buffalo's Bill Borgen slashed Caps winger Conor Sheary to put Washington on the only power play of the period. Just over a minute later, the Caps took advantage and took a 1-0 lead.
From the left circle, Caps captain Alex Ovechkin pounded a shot on net and Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark made the stop. Ovechkin then appeared to try to bank the puck in off T.J. Oshie's stick, and this one squirted through, allowing Nicklas Backstrom to give it a final nudge over the line for a 1-0 Washington lead at 17:23.
The second was also a swiftly played stanza, but again quality offensive opportunities were hard to come by on both sides.
With Oshie in the box for hi-sticking, Tom Wilson won a puck battle at the Buffalo line, quickly leaving a pair of Sabres in his wake as he scooted off on a breakaway with Nic Dowd trailing in the middle of the ice. Wilson beat Ullmark with a backhander for a 2-0 Caps advantage at 6:38 of the second.
Washington put together some extended offensive zone shifts in the middle of the second and kept Buffalo from generating much in the way of shots and chances for most of the frame.

In the third, the Caps expanded their lead on a nifty play by defenseman Justin Schultz, who picked the pocket of Buffalo blueliner Rasmus Dahlin in neutral ice, then carried down low into the Sabres' zone. As he neared the goal line, Schultz curled a pass back for Lars Eller in the right circle. Eller fired and Ullmark made the stop, but Sheary was right there to bury the rebound for his second goals in as many games, both against former employers. This one was a make-good for the Washington winger, who was robbed by Ullmark midway through the first. Sheary's goal - the only 5-on-5 goal of the game - made it a 3-0 contest at 7:28 of the final frame.
Although Buffalo has struggled at even strength all season, its power play ranks in the NHL's top five, and the extra-man unit spoiled Vanecek's bid for his first NHL shutout. With time winding down on the Sabres' man advantage, Wilson wasn't quite able to execute a clear near the Washington line, and Buffalo made good on the reprieve. The ever-dangerous Victor Olofsson fired a high wrist shot past Vanecek at 11:27 of the third to spoil the whitewash effort.
"We didn't really give them much," says Wilson, whose shorthanded strike in the second turned out to be the game-winner. "Vitek made some big saves when he needed to. Besides that shorthanded clear, we didn't really give them much. We are feeling a little bit better about our game, so we've got to keep that rolling and just keep the momentum going."