Dahlin records 1st 3-point night of career in shootout loss to Capitals

WASHINGTON, D.C. - The Buffalo Sabres again went toe to toe against one of the NHL's best and managed to earn a point on the road.
Rasmus Dahlin recorded a goal and two assists for the first three-point game of his career, Jack Eichel scored twice and Carter Hutton made 35 saves through regulation and overtime as the Sabres fell to the Washington Capitals 4-3 on Saturday at Capital One Arena.
The two teams traded chances all night and especially in the dying minutes of the third period and through overtime in what turned out to be a wild finish. Sam Reinhart missed what looked to be a wide open net with one minute remaining in the third and Hutton stoned Evgeny Kuznetsov on a breakaway in overtime to name a few opportunities each way.
In the shootout, Alexander Ovechkin buried a shot in the top of the fourth round and then Pheonix Copley stopped Jason Pominville to end the game.

Ovechkin also scored in the third period to tie it at 3. The goal extended his point streak to a career-long 14 games and his goal streak to six. He was also coming off back-to-back hat trick performances.
Entering the game, Buffalo's power play had been 3-for-23 over the last eight games. Saturday night, they officially connected twice on three chances and added another just as the Washington penalty expired.
"Our compete came out there in the third. Some gys stepped up, made some big plays for us," Eichel said. "We only get a point out of the game, but I thought we had a chance to get two. You can't let this one hang over your head too long. We're playing in less than 24 hours so we've got to get to Boston, get ready to play another really good hockey team that beat us up pretty good at the beginning of the year."
Buffalo plays the Bruins at 5 p.m. on Sunday at TD Garden. Catch the GMC Game Night pregame show on MSG starting at 4:30. Rick Jeanneret and Rob Ray will have the call on MSG and WGR 550.
"We knew it's one of the best teams in the League. It was tough out there but Hutts made a great game," Dahlin said. "We battled hard and scored some goals. It's not fun to lose, but it's a huge point."

Over the past three weeks, the Sabres have played road games against top teams like Tampa and Nashville and at home against Toronto, earning points in half of them. The Sabres are currently tied for sixth in the league, they're third in the Atlantic Division, and 4-3-3 in their last 10.
"We've shown enough solid play the first little bit of the season. I think we still have a ton of room to grow," defenseman Zach Bogosian said. "I think the teams now are realizing that they're probably going to have to up their game and we're not the old Buffalo Sabres, that's for sure. We're going to get teams' best every night and we like that challenge."

Power play steps up

The Sabres took an early lead thanks to Eichel's first goal, which came 2:41 into the contest and as Washington's Michal Kempny was stepping out of the penalty box.
Dahlin then netted the first power-play goal of his career to put the Sabres ahead 3-2 at the 7:21 mark of the second. Dahlin had been pointless in each of the last seven games.

With two assists on the night, Sam Reinhart extended his point streak to nine games (5+8).
"I thought we were moving it well. We were taking what they were giving us," Eichel said of the power play. "We obviously were able to come up with a couple loose pucks there and regain possession. I thought everyone chipped in."
Sabres coach Phil Housley liked the way his club's special teams stepped up (the Capitals power play went 0-for-4 with seven shots on goal) and how they've battled through adversity this season.
"All in all, I liked our game. We have an opportunity to win a hockey game late in the third there, so can't fault our effort," he said. "Obviously we've got to get ready for tomorrow."

No. 1 at the box office

Let's pause for a second and just listen to Rick Jeanneret's call of Eichel's second goal:

The pair of goals extended Eichel's point streak to five games. He has nine points (7+2) in that stretch, including three multi-goal games.
Eichel has also now recorded two points in six of his last eight games. His 16 multi-point games this season currently tie for the league lead.
"Their D just opens his hips there. The way they play their system, they push you to the outside and most skate forward at you so I was just trying to get back to the middle of the ice," he said of the play. "I thought I saw a little hole over his glove so I shot it. The power play comes up big for us, gets three goals tonight."

Injury update

Nathan Beaulieu left the game on his first shift of the second period after taking a hit from Tom Wilson along the boards. He did not return and there could be an update on his status Sunday.
The Sabres got Marco Scandella back on Saturday after he had been out eight games with an upper-body injury. He finished the game with 23:33 of ice time, three hits and two blocked shots. Matt Hunwick is also close to returning from a neck injury that's caused him to miss the entire season so far. He played a pair of games in Rochester this week on a conditioning loan.
Lawrence Pilut did not play due to a lower-body injury and is considered day-to-day.
The Sabres are also without Jake McCabe and Casey Nelson, who are both are on injured reserve.

Hutton puts on clinic

"He made some big saves all game. I thought in the second period, they got some momentum there in their offensive zone," Bogosian said. "He did a really good job of keeping us in it and making some big saves at key times. That's what both of our goalies have done all year. It's been good to see."