Eichel's shootout winner lifts Sabres | 5 takeaways from 4-3 win in D.C.

Buffalo Sabres captain Jack Eichel has seen his share of chances this season, and he finally found the back of the net when it counted. It happened in the first round of the shootout Sunday evening and his decisive goal lifted the Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena.
The Sabres' power play factored in on all three of their regulation goals, with Colin Miller, Victor Olofsson and Eric Staal scoring.
After picking up an assist in the second period, he now has seven helpers on the season, but has yet to score in regulation or overtime through six games. Last year, he scored a career-high 36 goals in 68 contests. He hit the post during the shootout in Friday's loss to Washington. Did potting the deciding shootout goal on Sunday feel like a weight was lifted off his shoulders?
"Not quite, but I mean we got the two points so that's all that matters," Eichel said. "Obviously, I'm on a little bit of a schneid right now, trying to get off of it, just trying to shoot the puck. I think as soon as one goes in they'll all start coming but it was a heck of a performance by our team and it was good that we battled back and got a much-needed two points."
Linus Ullmark made 28 saves plus three more in the shootout to earn his first win of 2020-21.
Buffalo ended up putting 48 shots on rookie Vitek Vanecek. It's their highest shot total in a game since they poured on 48 against Ottawa on November 1, 2018
Taylor Hall had a penalty shot attempt go off the crossbar with 9:27 remaining in regulation. Buffalo's last penalty shot attempt was back on February 11, 2020 when Conor Sheary (now with Washington) had an unsuccessful breakaway against Detroit's Jonathan Bernier.
Here are five takeaways from the game:

1. Power play catches fire

Buffalo went 3-for-5 on the night with the second unit netting a pair, starting with Miller's tally at 10:07 of the second period to tie the game. Miller beat Vanecek with a booming shot from the point that went bar down. Staal, also a member of the second unit, has now scored in back-to-back games.

Krueger sees Buffalo's special teams play giving the club confidence moving forward.
"They just moved the puck much quicker and we weren't as static in our positions," Krueger said. "You could see Jack on one side or the other. We've been trying to get them to be less predictable but still keep the puck speed up. It was good to see the second unit scoring, because what's really important to have a successful power play is that both are threatening and both are effective."
In his usual spot in the right faceoff circle, just below the hashmarks, Olofsson roofed a shot short-side one-timer to tie the game once again with 6:56 left in the second.

The goal unsurprisingly looked very familiar to many of the goals he's scored from there, including his first of the year back on opening night:

All three of Olofsson's goals this year have come on the power play. In fact, his 15 career power-play goals in 66 NHL games tie for fifth-most in the NHL since he made his debut on March 28, 2019.
"I think we were all on the same page, I thought we converged on the net well, I thought we finished on some chances," Eichel said. "Special teams is a big part of this league. We harped on it after the last game. It's going to be a big weapon for us so it was good to see our power play get us three. When the 5-on-5 goals aren't going in, it's important to be good on special teams and we were today."
On Staal's goal, he one timed it short side from just above the faceoff dot. Like Olofsson's goal, the puck deflected up off Vanecek's glove.

2. Ullmark locked in when it counts

In the 100th game of his career, Ullmark rebounded to put on a goaltending clinic late in the third period and in overtime.
Ullmark was also between the pipes during Buffalo's shootout loss on Friday so earning the win at the end of a difficult week personally proved cathartic.
"It was also a very big sigh of relief as well. I had two weak goals against and I think we should've won this in regulation," he said. "So, definitely, it was a nice feeling to get the win in the end, especially when we lost against them in the shootout last time."
Perhaps his biggest save of the night came on Nicklas Backstrom in overtime when Backstrom skated in on a breakaway and he made another great glove save on Justin Schultz in the extra frame:

3. The importance of picking up points

The Sabres are now 2-3-1 on the season and have earned points in three of their last four games, all of which have been on the road.
Buffalo is 1-2-1 against the Capitals this season and won't see their new division rivals again until February 11 at KeyBank Center.
"We definitely got what we deserved after four games with Washington where for me if you look at the overall play of the last two games," Krueger said. "Today, believe it or not, we were actually off on execution compared to those two games, but it's just the way hockey seems to work that it works out for you. We definitely deserved one win out of these four.
"It wasn't necessarily what I would call a solid or pretty win, but it was an extremely important one, and we had to dig down a few times again after disappointment and found a way, which it could be we come out of this stronger than if this win today would've been an easy one. But overall, just pleased with the heart and soul but not really with the overall performance tonight."
At game's end, Buffalo moved into a tie with the Devils for sixth place in the East Division. The Devils are playing the Islanders at home Sunday night.

4. Mittelstadt makes season debut

Casey Mittelstadt suited up for the first time this year, coming off the taxi squad prior to the opening faceoff. He recorded the secondary assist on Miller's goal. The 2017 first-round pick skated 10:02 in his first NHL game since December 10, 2019.
"He looked really good on his feet. I thought he was moving really well," Krueger said. "It looks like the offseason has been good to him. We've loved him with the taxi squad, we liked him through training camp. He added a nice element to our game tonight, becomes a strong option when you look at how he walked into his first game after so long.
"He made good defensive decisions and reads. I thought you could see his energy and his compete were in a good place. So very pleased with the 10-plus minutes he played after such a very long break."

5. Ristolainen moves up in the history books

With his assist on Miller's goal, Rasmus Ristolainen passed Jim Schoenfeld for sole possession of the seventh-most career points recorded by a Sabres defenseman (229). He now trails Bill Hajt by 15 points for sixth-most.
Ristolainen earned the game's third star.

Coming up

The Sabres will not practice on Monday and will host the New York Rangers on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. The Rangers will be coming off a two-game series in Pittsburgh.
Faceoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550 with the pregame show on MSG kicking things off at 6:30.