New-look second line leads Sabres past Capitals

A familiar path, including a lost third-period lead and multiple missed opportunities in overtime, led the Buffalo Sabres in an unfamiliar direction Monday at KeyBank Center as they earned a 4-3 shootout win over the Washington Capitals.

After flying home from a disappointing, 1-2-1 road trip out west, the Sabres put together one of their more complete efforts in recent weeks and, for the first time since Nov. 22, earned two points past regulation.

“I thought we played a really strong full 60 minutes, honestly,” said Sabres alternate captain Alex Tuch, who scored twice in regulation and once in the shootout. “Especially coming back from out west, it can be tough to get your legs.

“I thought everyone came in and worked really hard. I thought we played a really responsible game tonight. We weren’t turning pucks over and we were playing winning hockey.”

The Sabres took a 3-2 lead into the third and limited Washington’s offense for much of the frame.

But at 15:47, a couple unlucky bounces netted the game-tying goal for Capitals forward Aliaksei Protas. First, Connor Clifton blocked a centering pass from below the left circle that bounced right back on John Carlson’s stick. Then, Carlson’s second attempt hit Protas’ stick atop the crease, bounced off Owen Power and found the net.

That equalizer was the result of a lengthy defensive-zone shift for Buffalo.

“We’d actually done a really good job in our D-zone, but when you’ve got tired people, you’re not quick to cover, and it cost us the tying goal,” said Sabres coach Lindy Ruff.

The Sabres outshot Washington 5-3 during a back-and-forth overtime period. The best chance for either team came on a Jason Zucker breakaway, but Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren made his biggest stop in a 24-save night to send it to a shootout.

A Pierre-Luc Dubois goal and two Sabres misses left Buffalo in a do-or-die round three. Enter Tuch, who got Lindgren to bite on a backhand fake before pulling to his forehand and scoring on an empty net.

JJ Peterka scored the eventual game winner on a wrister in the fourth round, and a third straight save by Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen secured the victory.

“Unbelievable goal by Tuchy to get us through the first three,” Ruff said. “And then our goaltender closed the door, and JJ, heck of a shot to win it for us.”

Tight games had rarely gone Buffalo’s way for the last month-plus, but on Monday, the Sabres felt they better resisted pressure from the Eastern Conference-leading Capitals.

“I think we’ve been in situations like that all season, so we’ve had a lot of experience to draw off,” said Sabres forward Tage Thompson. “I thought we did a good job responding all game just to all the little pushes they had. They’re a good team, so they had shifts where they were in our zone and got good looks, and I don’t think we let it affect us … went right back to playing our game and kept it simple and direct and got rewarded for it tonight.”

The Sabres endured their 13-game winless streak but have since gone 4-2-1, and at the halfway point of their season, they sit just six points out of a playoff spot.

“It should drive all of us to know you’re that close,” Ruff said. “When you go through what we went through, we should come out of this a better team. Everybody should come out as a better player and understand how hard it is to win games, and sometimes how easy it is to lose them.

“We’re fortunate that, the way everything has unfolded, we’re within striking distance with [41] games left.”

Here’s more from the win.

1. The line of Ryan McLeod, JJ Peterka and Alex Tuch, reassembled for the first time since November, led the way for the Sabres.

Tuch opened the scoring 4:42 into the game, deflecting Peterka's shot from the right dot after sticking with the puck through a choppy zone entry. And he gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead a minute into the second period, stealing the puck from Jacob Chychrun at the defensive blue line to spring himself for a breakaway goal in the 4-on-4 situation.

The line played 11:28 at 5-on-5, during which Buffalo held a 12-8 edge in shots attempts and 7-2 in scoring chances, per Natural Stat Trick.

“I thought that line was our best line tonight, overall,” Ruff said. “It was good to see Clouder hang onto the puck and skate the way he did. JJ, right from the start, looked like he had really good legs.”

Peterka logged two assists in a season-high 23:37 of ice time. And five shots on goal were his most since Nov. 5 versus Ottawa, when he had six.

“I thought he was moving his feet,” Tuch said. “He was possessing the puck, was making some really good plays. … It was really good to play with him tonight. I thought our chemistry was really good and we had some open looks and we’re going to continue to try to build off that.”

2. Buffalo’s power play continued its recent hot streak with a 1-for-3 night.

The goal, a signature Thompson one timer from the left dot, gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead 13 minutes into the second period.

Thompson has been especially mobile on recent man advantages, spending more time at the bumper position than his typical shooting spot. But as Monday’s goal exemplified, that newer setup doesn’t totally eliminate Thompson’s greatest asset.

“I think our power play has been great,” Thompson said. “We’ve got a lot of good looks. The road trip was great for us. I think even before the trip, we were really starting to find a groove. I think we just have a lot more motion on the power play – sometimes when you’re standing in one spot, it’s easy to just stick a guy on you and take away your shot.”

Dating back to Dec. 21 at Boston, the Sabres’ power play has converted on an NHL-leading 42.1 percent (8-for-19) of its opportunities.

3. Sabres forward Jiri Kulich’s last shift came midway through the second period as he exited with a lower-body injury.

“We’ll reevaluate him tomorrow and hopefully it won’t be too long,” Ruff said of the rookie, who logged one shot on goal in 5:18 of ice time.

4. Defenseman Henri Jokiharju entered the lineup for his first game since Dec. 21, skating on a pair with Mattias Samuelsson.

Jokiharju missed about eight minutes in the second period after crashing the Washington crease and taking a stick to the face; the play didn’t merit a high-sticking penalty, as John Carlson was following through on a clearing attempt. Jokiharju returned late in the period with a full face shield.

He also drew a boarding call on Dylan Strome in the third period. Buffalo had extended pressure on the ensuing power play but was unable to extend its lead to 4-2.

Jokiharju played 11:46 and finished the night with a plus-one rating. Buffalo outshot Washington 4-3 with him on the ice.

6. With a pair of goals for Washington, forward Tom Wilson has now scored four times in two games against Buffalo this season.

Up next

The Sabres’ one-game road trip takes them to Ottawa for a Thursday night matchup with the Senators.

Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.