Washington Capitals 3-1 Victory over the Buffalo Sabres
The Washington Capitals secured a victory in their second straight game, this time coming at the hands of the Buffalo Sabres. The Capitals were 1-4-0 in their last five games coming into Thursday’s matchup with the Sabres. The Caps have had struggles on the defensive side of the puck in recent action. However, they have shown signs of turning that around as they beat the Sabres 3-1 in regulation.
The key to this victory was the Capitals strong offensive push which netted 3 total goals. Vitek Vanecek had another excellent performance saving 22 total shots. The Capitals saw improvement in the face-off circle as well, winning 51% of them on the night. Nic Dowd led the way in the face-off category winning 75% of his defensive zone face-offs. A fast paced first period left the Sabres unlucky after knocking a couple of pucks off the posts. The Caps however, executed on a chance late in the first with a goal from Nicklas Backstrom, who is the team leader in goals, assists and points.
Early in the second, while shorthanded, Tom Wilson scored on a breakaway to extend the Capitals lead to 2-0. Conor Sheary added another goal for the Capitals in the third. Vanecek played great between the pipes for the Capitals and looked to be on the way to his first career NHL shutout. A third period goal from Victor Oloffson spoiled that venture however with a top shelf shot stick side on Vanecek.
The Capitals played extremely well again Thursday night, making it two wins in a row, following their 4 game skid. After back to back strong performances from the Capitals, they will be back in action twice this upcoming weekend. Saturday (2/20) they take on the Rangers and Sunday (2/21) they take on the Devils in a pair of weekend home games.
