Intro – The lead paragraph should tell who, what, when, where. Remember, imagine you are telling someone who didn’t see the game what happened. What would you tell them first? You wouldn’t list all 8 goals in order. You’d give them a quick overview.
Ex. Ryan O’Reilly recorded a pair of goals and Robin Lehner made 45 saves as the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals by a 4-2 score on Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Paragraphs 2-3 – Your next two or three paragraphs should be about the storyline started in the lead and then what the game means to each team.
After giving up a two-goal lead, O’Reilly’s late power-play goal in the third period put Buffalo up for good. Jason Pominville sealed it with an empty-netter just seconds later.
The win gives Buffalo its fifth consecutive victory and 11th in the last 14. For Washington, it was their first regulation loss in the month of February, but they still sit atop the Metropolitan division.
Quote about how Buffalo performed (Find these on Twitter or watch the postgame interviews on MSG to get quotes)
“I thought we came out a little slow, but in the latter half of the game our effort was there. It was a great challenge for us and it paid off in the end.” – Phil Housley
Paragraphs 4-8 – Provide some play-by-play, how the game unfolded. Were there any spectacular plays? How did the goalies do? Include more quotes if you have/find any.
The work paid off, but Lehner came up with two key saves early in the third period to keep the game tied at two. The effort helped him earn his 16th victory of the season, and third in a row.
“Lehner was suberb tonight. He really stood on his head and we earned these two points because of him.” – O’Reilly
At the other end, Braden Holtby had his moments, but couldn’t get across the crease quickly enough on what was the game-winning goal. Still, stopped 37 of 40 shots and gave the Capitals a chance to win.
Sam Reinhart has been finding his game of late, and continued his recent run of success with a goal and assist. After battling in front of the net, he deflected a shot from Rasmus Ristolainen that trickled over the goal line for his 18th of the season.
The other Buffalo goal came off the stick of Marco Scandella, who blasted a slap shot from the slot to open the scoring.
For Washington, Alex Ovechkin buried a shot from his office (the left faceoff circle) while on the power play, and Evgeny Kuznetsov knocked home a rebound in the 2nd.
Paragraphs 9-10 – Were there any injuries, key stats?
Johan Larsson left the game in the second period after blocking a shot and did not return. Housley said they will evaluate him further on Tuesday.
Paragraph 11 – What’s next?
Riding a three-game winning streak, the Sabres will head north to take on the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday at Air Canada Centre. Puck drop is scheduled for 7:30 p.m.
Notice how this recap is NOT a chronological rundown of what happened. That’s exactly what the scoring tables is for.