Entering their game against the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center on Friday night, the two special teams units for the Buffalo Sabres sat on opposite ends of the success spectrum. Their power play ranked third in the NHL at 23 percent, while their penalty kill - a strength of the team earlier this season - had fallen to 29th at 75.6 percent.
Neither the power play nor the penalty kill found much success on Friday, however, resulting in their third loss to the Capitals since Nov. 25, this one by a score of 4-1. Washington scored on two of its three power plays while Buffalo didn't capitalize until its fifth power play, which came late in the third period.
Special teams proves the difference in loss to Caps
© Bill Wippert/Getty Images