Ovechkin goal stifles comeback effort in Washington

WASHINGTON -In the District of Columbia, two offices reign supreme. One is located on Pennsylvania Avenue, occupied by the president of the United States. The other, in and around the left faceoff circle at Capital One Arena, belongs to Alex Ovechkin.
With the Buffalo Sabres in town and pushing for a third-period comeback on Saturday night, Ovechkin went to his office as he often does, with the Washington Capitals on the power play. He reached back and rifled a one-time shot across the body of Robin Lehner, the difference maker in a 5-1 Sabres loss.
Prior to Ovechkin's goal, the Sabres trailed 2-1 and had generatied potential game-tying looks. After it, Lars Eller scored into an empty net with 2:12 remaining and Ovechkin later added a second goal to transform a close game into a lopsided loss for the Sabres.

"If we get through that power play," Lehner said, "it could have been different."

The power play was Washington's first of the game, the result of a goalie interference call against Kyle Okposo with 11:17 remaining. Okposo appeared to be pushed into Philipp Grubauer by linemate Zemgus Girgensons, who was pushed from behind by Washington forward Tom Wilson.
"I totally disagree with the call," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "He's trying to go hard to the net, which we want our guys to do, and he gets pushed into the goalie. [The official] said that he made no move to get out of the crease, but when you've got two guys pushing on him, it's hard to get out of there."
The Sabres came into the contest having earned at least a point in each of their last six road games, with a 5-0-1 record in that span. They had scored the first goal in five of those games, which Housley stressed as a crucial aspect to their success.
It was the Capitals who struck first on Saturday, and it took them less than a minute to do so. Evgeny Kuznetsov carried the puck into the neutral zone, got by Jason Pominville as he cut across the net and scored just 50 seconds into the game.
"I've got to have the first one," Pominville said. "That's on me. I think I've just got to skate with him and not try to get the puck. I think I tried at least two times to get the puck and he kept getting my stick."
The Sabres did eventually respond and generate some offense, but Housley felt it took too long. The Capitals' speed burned them again in the second period, this time when Andre Burakovsky went end-to-end and through four defenders before beating Lehner with a backhand shot.
"There were some guys who weren't ready to play tonight," Housley said. "It was obvious right from the drop of the puck."
Sam Reinhart scored to cut the deficit in half just 14 seconds into the third period, battling to drive to the net and burying a shot off his backhand. The goal was Reinhart's 14th of the season and his 19th point in 18 games.

"Sam went hard to the net," Housley said. "It's good to see him going to those areas. I think a lot of our guys can do a better job of that, trying to get in front of the goaltender and get a greasy goal."
The Sabres were otherwise shutdown by Grubauer, who made 28 saves. Their comeback was stifled when Okposo went to the box and Ovechkin went to his office, made possible when Ryan O'Reilly tripped along the boards on the opposite side of the ice.
"It's unfortunate because I was forcing the puck in the corner and I fall down," he said. "It gives them the easy quick up and across. Usually I'm there, I can recover, and [forward Benoit Pouliot] doesn't have to come across and we can take that away. It's just an unfortunate bounce.
"He's one of the elite scorers in the game. Leave him open, he's going to make you pay."

Kane scratched as deadline approaches

Evander Kane was held out of the lineup as a precautionary measure to avoid risk of injury in advance of Monday's trade deadline. Kane is an unrestricted free agent at the end of this season.
While they missed his skillset on the ice, his teammates said they understood the decision by management.
"I think I'd be lying to say I was surprised by it," Pominville said. "You look around, there's been a lot of guys who have been held off the ice and he's probably been a guy who's drawn a lot of interest"

Up next

The Sabres return home on Sunday for a 5 p.m. matchup with the Boston Bruins. Family Packs - which include four 300-level tickets, four hot dogs, four drinks and four popcorns - are available and can be found here.
Can't make it downtown? Coverage on MSG-B begins at 4:30 with the GMC Game Night Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550.