Photo: Bill Wippert/NHLI via Getty Images

After serving as a healthy scratch for games on April 2 and 4 and returning to the lineup on April 6, Washington Capitals forward Jakub Vrana scored his 11th goal of the season, ending a 13-game scoring drought in the 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Friday night.C

Vrana gave the Capitals a 4-2 lead over the Sabres 9:48 into the final frame. Defenseman Justin Schultz and center Lars Eller assisted.

🐍🐍🐍 pic.twitter.com/XMJ7bdTmHK

— Washington Capitals (@Capitals) April 10, 2021

A 13-game scoring drought ended with his 11th goal thus far. He is second on the team with even-strength goals.

Jakub Vrana scores his 11th goal of the season to extend the Capitals’ lead to 4-2. All 11 of Vrana’s goals this season have come at even strength, which ranks second on the team (Alex Ovechkin: 15).

— CapitalsPR (@CapitalsPR) April 10, 2021

In an April 6 media session following morning skate, Vrana mentioned he and head coach Peter Laviolette have had some conversations. “There [are] some things during the game I need to work on…The only thing I can control is go out there and work my ass off. Work hard…try to do what I do best and that’s my focus on right now. [As] I said before, try to help the team to get the win [tonight] and we move on.”

On tonight’s postgame media call, Vrana said the goal was a “big” one and came on a “great play.” “We got the first goal…we were talking about it a long time now…getting the pucks on the blueline,” he said, adding, “We did that today.” Vrana noted they are some improvements, but they are “feeling good going to the next game”.

“It’s been a long time. Our fans bring a lot of energy to our arena. They’re like an extra player for us,” Vrana said about the news that D.C.  approved the waiver Monumental Sports & Entertainment (MSE) requested for fans to attend games at Capital One Arena at 10% capacity, which is 2,100 fans. “Even [if] it’s not going to be full, we’ll still be happy to see somebody in the stands cheering for us [and] giving us some extra energy…just excited to get them back in the arena.”

By Della Young