Buffalo Sabres Beat Washington Capitals, 4-2


Photo by Ben Ludeman/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals lost to the Buffalo Sabres by a score of 4-2 on Thursday in their second visit to KeyBank Center in a span of nine days. The loss dropped Washington’s record to 37-31-11 (.538 points percentage) this season.

Goaltender Charlie Lindgren made 13 saves in the defeat. Buffalo was eliminated from Stanley Cup Playoff contention earlier this week. The Pittsburgh Penguins were on top of the Detroit Red Wings by a score of 5-4; both teams entered Thursday a point behind Washington for the final postseason spot in the Eastern Conference.

Washington’s Lines

Alex Ovechkin — Connor McMichael — T.J. Oshie
Aliaksei Protas – Dylan Strome – Tom Wilson
Max Pacioretty — Hendrix Lapierre — Sonny Milano
Beck Malenstyn — Nic Dowd — Nicolas Aube-Kubel

Martin Fehervary — John Carlson
Alex Alexeyev — Nick Jensen
Trevor Van Riemsdyk – Vincent Iorio

Lindgren
Darcy Kuemper

Scratched: RW Ivan Miroshnichenko, C Mike Sgarbossa, D Lucas Johansen

Out: D Ethan Bear (NHLPA players assistance program), C Nicklas Backstrom (hip), D Rasmus Sandin (upper-body)

Buffalo’s Lines

J.J. Peterka — Tage Thompson — Alex Tuch
Zach Benson — Dylan Cozens — Jack Quinn
Jeff Skinner — Peyton Krebs — Jordan Greenway
Zemgus Girgensons — Tyson Jost — Lukas Rousek

Owen Power — Rasmus Dahlin
Kale Clague — Henri Jokiharju
Jacob Bryson — Connor Clifton

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen
Eric Comrie

Scratched: RW Victor Olofsson, LW Eric Robinson

Out: D Mattias Samuelsson (upper-body), D Bowen Byram (personal)

FIRST PERIOD

Scoring

19:00, 1-0 Buffalo: Benson tipped Skinner’s wrist shot from the top in the slot through the wickets of Lindgren after Krebs dropped it for him.

Shots: 10-5 Washington

Other Notable Stats: 15-7 Washington in hits, 69% Washington in faceoffs

Screenshots: Natural StatTrick


SECOND PERIOD

Scoring

12:37, 2-0: Tuch fired a wrister through the five-hole of Lindgren in the slot after getting a backhand pass from Jokiharju off of a zone entry.

14:36, 2-1: McMichael buried a backhanded pass from Pacioretty down the wing in front after driving to the net.

Shots: 14-11 Washington but 6-4 Buffalo in the second

Other Notable Stats: 26-12 Washington in hits, 10-8 Washington in blocked shots, 64% Washington on faceoffs


THIRD PERIOD

Scoring

9:46, 3-1: After Clifton dropped a pass at the blueline, Quinn curled the puck on his stick, sidestepped Jensen, and beat Lindgren high-glove side with a wicked wrist shot.

17:43, 4-1 (ENG): Cozens dumped one into the empty net from the offensive blue line.

19:00, 4-2: Wilson tipped in Carlson’s wrist shot from the blueline in the slot blocker-side.

Shots: 23-17 Washington, including 9-6 in the third.

Other Notable Stats: 34-23 Washington in hits, 14-12 Washington in blocked shots, 70% Washington on faceoffs

Standings

Washington remained two points behind the New York Islanders for third place in the Metropolitan Division with both teams down to three games left. Washington could end the night one point back of Pittsburgh (three) for the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. In addition, they remained a point ahead of Detroit (three). The Philadelphia Flyers are two behind Washington, who has a game in hand. Washington ends the regular season in Philadelphia on Tuesday.

Next game: Saturday vs. Tampa Bay Lightning (5:30 PM ET, Monumental Sports Network in-market, ESPN+ out-of-market)

By Harrison Brown

About Harrison Brown

Harrison is a diehard Caps fan and a hockey fanatic with a passion for sports writing. He attended his first game at age 8 and has been a season ticket holder since the 2010-2011 season. His fondest Caps memory was watching the Capitals hoist the Stanley Cup in Las Vegas. In his spare time, he enjoys travel, photography, and hanging out with his two dogs. Follow Harrison on Twitter @HarrisonB927077





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