Usually when a team has five power plays in one night, that team has a pretty good chance at winning the hockey game. However, this was not the case Friday night at the KeyBank Center, when the Buffalo Sabres lost to the Washington Capitals by a score of 4-1.
After a back-and-forth first period highlighted by strong performances from both Robin Lehner and Philipp Grubauer, the Capitals were able to get on the board midway through the second period. T.J. Oshie was left alone in front of the net, and was able to lift the puck over Lehner after receiving a pass in the slot from Jay Beagle. Oshie’s goal, his ninth of the season, gave Washington a 1-0 lead.
Just minutes later, the Caps doubled their lead, this time on the power play. Evgeny Kuznetsov passed the puck across the crease to Jakub Vrana, who was able to deflect the puck past Lehner for the first goal of his NHL career, a goal that gave the Capitals a 2-0 lead.
Buffalo was able to cut the Washington lead in half with just over eight minutes left in the third, when Kyle Okposo scored his team-leading ninth goal of the year off of assists from Rasmus Ristolainen and Ryan O’Reilly. Okposo’s goal came on the Sabres’ fifth power play of the night, the only power play Buffalo would score on in the game.
The Capitals answered right back, scoring two minutes later on the power play. Defenseman John Carlson restored Washington’s two goal lead with assists from Nicklas Backstrom and Marcus Johansson with Brian Gionta in the penalty box.
Marcus Johansson added an empty net goal in the game’s closing minutes, securing the 4-1 lead for the Capitals.
The biggest story coming out of this game is Buffalo’s lack of success on the power play. The Sabres’ power play units were largely ineffective, going just one for five with the man advantage. “We struggled on the power play most of the night. It was pretty evident,” said Kyle Okposo after the game, the team’s lone goal scorer on the night. “We just didn’t execute and their special teams were better than ours.”
Both Lehner and Grubauer played strong games for their respective teams. Lehner finished the game with 25 saves on 28 shots. Grubauer finished with 27 saves, with the goal post helping him out multiple times throughout the night.
Per usual, Rasmus Ristolainen led the team in ice time, finishing the game with over a whopping 30 minutes played. Ristolainen was one of the few bright spots in the team’s 4-1 loss, as the young Finland-native continues to break out as one of the better defensemen in the league.
Buffalo and Washington’s game Friday night was their final matchup of the season, and Washington’s win secures them the season-series sweep of the Sabres. Buffalo’s next game is Tuesday night, when the team takes on the Los Angeles Kings at the KeyBank Center.