Caps Down Sabres, 4-3

Finishing up a set of back-to-back games on Friday night against the Sabres in Buffalo, the Caps jumped out to an early two-goal lead and kept their hosts safely at bay the rest of the way, claiming a 4-3 win in their fourth and final game in western New York this season.

Washington overcame a recent spate of slow starts, taking an early lead and holding onto it for more than 57 minutes. The Caps' defense contributed a pair of goals and four assists to the cause, led by Justin Schultz's three-point night (one goal, two assists).
"I thought that we came out good," says Caps coach Peter Laviolette. "We were trying to push energy, we were trying to make that happen. You get caught in the schedule a little bit, but I thought our guys responded and kept pushing the whole way through. So it was good to get the two points and move on."

A night after giving up a goal on the first shot against of the game in a 4-2 loss to the Bruins, the Caps turned the tables and took an early 1-0 lead over the Sabres on their first shot of the game. After taking a feed from Schultz, Brenden Dillon wound up and fired from the right point, beating Buffalo goaltender Dustin Tokarski to stake the Caps to a lead at 2:39 of the first.
Precisely nine minutes later, Washington doubled its lead on Alex Ovechkin's 21st goal of the season and second in as many nights. Ovechkin took a long lead pass from Dillon and entered the Buffalo zone. He halted just below the blue line and surveyed for options, and seemingly tried to connect with Tom Wilson, who was crashing the net. But the puck hit Buffalo blueliner Rasmus Dahlin and bounded into the net for a 2-0 Caps lead.
Buffalo got a goal back late in the first when Dahlin fed partner Henri Jokiharju, whose wrist shot from just above the left circle beat Vitek Vanecek at 18:34 of the opening period.
With the two sides playing 4-on-4 hockey at the outset of the second period, the Caps restored their two-goal lead after winning an offensive-zone draw in the first half minute. Lars Eller won a left dot draw, backhanded a pass to Schultz at the left point, and then occupied a defender along the wall. With the extra space, Schultz walked it down to the high slot and cranked a blast of a one-timer past Tokarski to make it a 3-1 game just 28 seconds into the middle frame.

Just after the midpoint of the second, the Sabres closed to within one once again. Rasmus Asplund got on in the forecheck and made a play to the front for Casey Mittelstadt. From just above the paint, Mittelstadt roofed a wrist shot to the far side at 10:08 to make it 3-2.
Along with Dmitry Orlov and John Carlson, Eller and linemates Jakub Vrana and T.J. Oshie turned in a terrific offensive zone shift just ahead of the first television timeout in the third period. On that line's next shift, they put the Caps back up by a pair, this time with Schultz and Dillon backing them up.
Oshie and Eller combined to keep the puck in Buffalo ice, and Eller fed it to Schultz in the high slot. The Caps defenseman would have had a good look from there, but he heard Vrana calling for it, and issued a no-look backhand pass. Vrana cranked a one-timer home from the right dot at 9:48 to make it 4-2.
"We were pushing the whole game," says Vrana. "We created some chances. That's was a big goal, too, we'll take it. Schultzy made a great play there, put it right in the wheelhouse."

The Sabres didn't go away, and Vrana's goal turned out to be the game-winner. For the third time in as many periods, Buffalo pulled to within a goal, making it 4-3 late in the third with Tokarski off for an extra attacker. Tage Thompson tipped home a Rasmus Ristolainen point shot with 1:20 remaining, a couple minutes after what would have been a fifth Washington goal - and Ovechkin's second of the night - was disallowed because Wilson was ruled offside.
"The only thing you can control is your effort and your resolve," says Sabres coach Don Granato. "And we showed both despite trailing early and trailing late. We kept fighting all the way to the end. That was the underlying theme."
The Caps and Sabres conclude their season series with one another on Thursday night in the District.