The Buffalo Sabres were engaged in an offensive battle with the Washington Capitals from the First Niagara Center. After a back-and-forth battle, and yet another overtime game between them, Buffalo fails to win again, 5-4.
It was the “Alex Ovechkin Show” early as he put Washington on the board just 3:49 into the first period. Less than a minute later, Ovechkin got a piece of a Mike Green shot to give the Capitals a 2-0 lead. Buffalo was able to bring the game to within a goal thanks to Christian Ehrhoff. Buffalo was outshot in the first period 13-10, but only trailed 2-1.
The Sabres tied the game 2-2 just 1:41 into the second period with a Cody Hodgson power play goal. Mike Green gave Washington the lead again after beating Jhonas Enroth on a wrap-around. A little over a minute after Green’s goal, Phil Varone scored his first career NHL goal on a pass from line mate, Marcus Foligno. However, Troy Brouwer gave Washington a 4-3 lead before the end of the second period. The Capitals outshot the Sabres 16-4 in the period, but Buffalo was able to score on two of those shots.
Cody Hodgson got his second goal of the night at the 6:48 mark of the third period. Hodgson took advantage of a turnover and put a backhander past Braden Holtby. Jhonas Enroth shut the door, stopping all five shots faced in the third to help force overtime.
Just a minute into the overtime frame, Mike Green buried his second goal of the night, and the game-winning goal to give Washington the win. The Capitals ended up outshooting the Sabres in the game, 35-27.
Even though Buffalo has struggled as of late, going 2-4-4 in their last 10 games, Sabres interim coach, Ted Nolan, tries to look for the positives in a loss like tonight.
“This was our third game in four nights, and we’re playing a pretty good hockey team,” Nolan said. “To control the third period the way we did, you’re happy at one point, but on the other side there’s little parts of the game we still have to work on and make corrections on. It was a big lesson learned in a bad situation.”
Both Cody Hodgson and Tyler Ennis continue to be hot for the Sabres. Hodgson now has 10 points in the past nine games for the Sabres. Tyler Ennis added two more assists, which gives him eleven points in his last 12 games.
Alex Ovechkin finished the night with two goals (37 and 38) and two assists while Mike Green finished the night with two goals and an assist.
The Buffalo Sabres are now 14-30-8 on the year, and Jhonas Enroth still cannot find a win, now 1-10-5 on the year.
The Sabres now will head to the west coast and play the Phoenix Coyotes on Thursday night. The game can be seen on MSG and heard on WGR 550 AM.