Caps @ Sabres 1/14/21 Season Opener Recap

Hockey is officially back, and what better way to start the new season off than with a Washington win and a Pittsburgh loss! Without any preseason games and just two intra-squad scrimmages, many anticipated a slow start for most teams as they knock off the rust before settling into the normal swing of the season. In last night’s seasoner in Buffalo, the Capitals came out hot scoring twice in the first period, one about five minutes in being a beautiful goal put top-shelf by Nicklas Backstrom off a beautiful pass from Alex Ovechkin in traffic. Ovi was charging hard straight-on to the net when he drew multiple defenders in and the eye of Buffalo goaltender Carter Hutton before feeding it left side to Backstrom for a wide-open net.

The Sabres answered back three minutes later during a Power Play when Taylor Hall was able to get free next to the goal for a wide-open backdoor tap-in on Ilya Samsonov’s blindside. Nick Jensen seemed to jump out at the wrong time giving Victor Olofsson a clear lane to Hall in front. The Caps scored once again just a minute and a half later, however, during a Power Play of their own. Ovechkin fired a hard shot on net from just behind his patented office where it skirted through the legs of Hutton off a put-back shot from a rebound by T.J. Oshie. The Caps headed into the first intermission up 2-1.

The Caps came out hot again in the second period almost scoring two minutes in when their fourth line forced a turnover in the offensive zone setting up Carl Hagelin for a fantastic looking shot on goal that just would not go. It wouldn’t take much longer for the Caps to find paydirt in the second period as John Carlson found himself out in front alone with Carter Hutton. The 2019 NHL All-Star Skills Competition winner for the hardest shot made it 3-1 Caps with a rocket past Hutton’s right side. Later in the period, the Sabres had an amazing chance to score shorthanded after a couple of sloppy mishandles in their own zone by the Caps. Curtis Lazar had a shot from within arm’s reach of Samsonov that bounced right off him to the Sabres and would have been a goal if not for Ovechkin dropping to one knee on the open side to block the second-chance shot. Shortly after this, the guys in white were able to score again. This time Brendan Dillon sent a Hail Mary from near the blue line off a faceoff through traffic that somehow made its way cleanly to the back of the net to make it 4-1. As the period began to wind down with a minute and change remaining, the Sabres put a shot on goal that Samonsov could not grab ahold of. This rebound proved to be costly as it gave Tobias Reider the puck uncontested behind the net. With Samsonov turned, Reider was able to wrap around and tuck it in past the far post, bringing Buffalo within two.

The third period started out with a bang as Buffalo scored just twenty seconds in. The Caps could not clear their zone and had a breakdown on defense leading to an open shot for Jack McCabe. Between the goal at the end of the second period and this one to start the third, Buffalo had turned a 4-1 deficit into a suddenly very manageable 4-3 situation in two minutes of game time with essentially an entire period left to play. The Caps can thank their lucky stars however as just thirty seconds later Jake “the Snake” Vrana pickpocketed Eric Staal right in front of the Buffalo net and scored in the blink of an eye, giving the Caps back a two-goal lead. With just a little over two minutes left and nothing to lose, Buffalo pulled their goaltender. With the extra attacker, the Sabres were able to elevate and put one over Samsonov’s shoulder making it 5-4. Buffalo again pulled Carter Hutton, but this time the Caps were able to find the puck and put the nail in the coffin with a long empty netter by Garnet Hathaway from behind his own blue line. Final score: Capitals 6, Sabres 4.

Some quick final thoughts. All things considered, the Capitals came out strong. Their top two offensive lines looked great, and the experimental defensive line pairings looked better than expected. Zdeno Chara is (not surprisingly) fun to watch and brings a longtime veteran presence and leadership to the defense that has been missing since Brooks Orpik’s departure. Ilya Samsonov made some great saves but gave up way too many rebounds. The score might have looked a lot different had Sammy not gotten some help, whether it be from a teammate’s leg, stick, or the goalpost itself. He struggled a bit defending the far side of the net and needed help clearing loose rebounds. Peter Laviolette looked comfortable behind the bench and seemed to have things under control for the most part. Tonight will be a test for the new, young backup goaltender Vitek Vanecek, as Samsonov likely won’t start back-to-back nights.