Sabres Slash Capitals 3-1, End Washington’s Winning Streak at 3 Games

Posted on November 7, 2017 by Jon Sorensen

Photo by Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

The Washington Capitals fell to the Buffalo Sabres 3-1 Tuesday night night at KeyBank Center in Buffalo. The loss dropped the Capitals record to 8-7-1, 17 points for the season. The Capitals next host the Pittsburgh Penguins Friday night at Capital One Arena. Puck drop is 7:00 PM. 

Philipp Grubauer (0-4-1) got the start in goal for the Capitals. Robin Lehner got the start in goal for the Sabres.

Madison Bowey and Aaron Ness were the scratches for the Caps. (Bowey was a late scratch, after starting lines were tweeted by Mike Vogel). Matt Niskanen, Andre Burakovsky, Brett Connolly and Tyler Graovac were out due to injury.

FIRST PERIOD
The Sabres were awarded the game’s first power play when Alex Ovechkin was whistled for tripping at the 4:25 mark, but the Capitals would successfully stymie Buffalo’s initial man-advantage. A furious pace followed the game’s first power play, with several scoring chances for both sides, as Buffalo led in shots on goal 9-3 after the first 11 minutes of play.

The Caps were awarded their first power play at the 10:59 mark, but Washington would be unable to capitalize. The Sabres would end the period with their second power play of the opening frame, but no dame was done, The period would conclude with the team’s tied 0-0. The Sabres outshot the Capitals 15-4 for the opening stanza.

SECOND PERIOD
The Sabres would be the first to light the lamp when Jack Eichel made a nice play below the goal, feeding Evander Kane in front for the game’s first tally 2:39 into the middle frame.

For the second night in a row, Tom Wilson would drop the gloves, this time with Jake McCabe at 12:33 of the middle frame.

Alex Ovechkin would tie the game at the 17:44 mark. Ovechkin would net a nasty wrister from the slot, that was setup by a nice feed from Devante Smith-Pelly.

The period would end with the game tied 1-1. The Capitals led in shots on goal 10-9 for the middle frame. The Sabres led in shots on goal 24-14 through two periods of play.

THIRD PERIOD
The Sabres would retake the lead with an end-to-end dazzler by Benoit Pouliot at the 3:22 mark of the final frame.

The Capitals were called for two penalties in the first 10 minutes of the third period. The Caps successfully thwarted both Sabres power plays, but reduced chances to tie the game.

The Sabres would add an empty-net goal and hold on for the 3-1 win.

By Jon Sorensen

SCENES FROM BUFFALO

https://www.instagram.com/p/BbNpUDulmiE/

About Jon Sorensen

Jon has been a Caps fan since day one, attending his first game at the Capital Centre in 1974. His interest in the Caps has grown over the decades and included time as a season ticket holder. He has been a journalist covering the team for 10+ years, primarily focusing on analysis, analytics and prospect development.
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