Sabres collapse, fall to Capitals

recap

It looked as if Buffalo was on its way to a win over Washington, but if you’ve followed the Sabres this season, you’d know that a two goal lead is never safe.

The Capitals trailed 3-1 in the third period, but a shorthanded goal from Troy Brouwer and a game-tying goal with 39 seconds left sent the game to a shootout. Alex Ovechkin finished off the Sabres by beating Jhonas Enroth, giving Washington a 4-3 win at the First Niagara Center on Saturday.

Ville Leino scored a pair of goals after being benched on Thursday, but it wasn’t enough as the Sabres surrendered a two goal lead for the umpteenth time this season.

“I don’t think it’s being good,” Leino said of blowing the two goal lead. “I think it’s part of being experienced and being cool in situations where the game is on the line and there is a lot of pressure on the players.”

The Sabres allowed a league-worst 6th shorthanded goal in the third period, and Washington looked to gain momentum after that.

“They got some momentum after that, and it’s disappointing,” Leino said. “After that, they were pretty fired up and wanted to win the game.”

With the goaltender pulled, Mike Green tied the game at three with 39 seconds remaining in the 3rd period. With the win, the Capitals closed out the season series against Buffalo, winning all three games.

Jhonas Enroth stopped 35 of 38 shots on the night, but was unable to make a save in the shootout. Washington outshot the Sabres by a total of 38-23 on the night.

After being up by two goals, the Sabres needed a shootout to decide the game once again.

“It shouldn’t happen,” Leino said. “Good teams usually win those games. Teams that have success usually end up winning those games.”

Tonight marked Christian Ehrhoff’s 600th NHL game, and he started the scoring early in the first with some fancy wrist work and a shot that beat Holtby to give the Sabres the 1-0 lead.

Ville Leino buried a rebound early in the second period to put Buffalo up by two, but the Capitals responded quickly. Washington took advantage of a Tyler Ennis penalty and cut the deficit in half thanks to a goal from Alexander Ovechkin.

With Montreal’s win over the Rangers, the Sabres move to three points behind 8th placed New York in the Eastern Conference.

The Sabres will remain home and get right back to work as they take on the Bruins Sunday night. That game is scheduled to begin at 7 p.m.

 

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Kevin Freiheit
Kevin Freiheit
I founded Buffalo Hockey Central in 2008 and have poured hours and hours into this site. Luckily, we have a great team of writers and designers who have helped keep this up and running despite a ton of out-of-pocket costs. We do this because we enjoy it, and we're desperate to see the Sabres win the Cup someday, but they have to make the playoffs first.
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