After a tough loss to the Pittsburgh Penguins, the Washington Capitals took to the road to take on the Buffalo Sabres. In a contest that required a shootout, it was T.J. Oshie that won it and surviving a scare earlier.
The Caps took a 1-0 lead on a beautiful feed from Conor Sheary to Lars Eller for the slam dunk. Oshie got the secondary assist and it was Eller’s fourth goal of the season with the tall coming at 3:40.
At 13:48 the Sabres tied it thanks to Vinnie Hinostroza. The Sabres led in shots 13-10 after one.
In the second the Caps led in shots 13-10 but the Sabres took the lead on a goal from Will Butcher at 2:09.
In the third at 5:41 it was Martin Fehervary. After taking a hit from Brock McGinn, who should’ve gotten some kind of discipline but didn’t, the night before he was good to go Saturday night.
Fehervary ripped a shot from almost at the point and it was fed by Alex Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. It forced a tie at the end of regulation. The Caps outshot the Sabres in that third period 17-6.
Peter Laviolette said after the game:
"“We shot ourselves in the foot, just turning the puck over and things we have to clean up a little bit, but a really good response in the third period.”"
Shots were even at two as nobody scored in overtime. The Caps had the edge in shots overall 42-31. This game would require a shootout.
First up was Tage Thompson but he was stopped by Vitek Vanecek. Daniel Sprong answered on the other end with a goal. Dylan Cozens missed for the Sabres. Kuznetsov got stopped.
Then the Sabres made it interesting with Victor Olofsson scoring. Oshie would end it on the other end giving the Caps a huge win and their second straight shootout victory.
Fehervary told the media after the game that he was happy to play Saturday night. He also noted that Friday’s hit was a bad hit but he felt way better the next day.
The Caps will have a couple of days off to continue their road trip in Chicago against the Blackhawks.