The Capitals took a while to roll out of bed after another 4-day break in-between games, as the Buffalo Sabres struck first off of a wrister from JJ Peterka. Sabres rookie Zach Benson would then do everything in his power to avoid being sent down to the WHL with a sick between-the-legs goal for his first NHL marker. With things slipping out of the Caps’ hands early, Alex Alexeyev would take his turn introducing himself to the NHL scoresheet, launching one from the point that trickled past Sabres goalie Devon levi and cut Buffalo’s lead in half entering the second period.
Speaking of people finally getting onto the scoresheet, welcome back TJ Oshie! He made his return after putting away a Connor McMichael rebound to tie things up at 2 halfway into the second period. The Caps would soon put their red-hot penalty kill to the test with Nick Jensen and Connor McMichael heading off for a 5-on-3 advantage, in which Dylan Cozens was eventually able to pierce Darcy Kuemper and put Buffalo back on top heading into the third.
The Capitals would play the rest of regulation down a goal, all the way until pulling Kuemper for the extra attacker. With a minute and a half left, Dylan Strome would find Tom Wilson camping out in the bumper spot who ripped it past Sabres goalie Devon Levi to send us to an entertaining overtime period, that was capped by Dylan Strome taking it himself and sending Caps fans home with a lot to be thankful for as the Caps tacked on another two points to their record.
Three Takeaways
- There was a lot made about Kuemper getting the start coming off the mini-break instead of Charlie Lindgren who’s been red-hot, but he turned in a pretty strong performance in his own right.
- Rasmus Sandin was going to be my pick for Player of the Game before Strome decided to show off, so I’ll give the Sandman his props here. He led the team in minutes at 5v5 and was up to the task with a lot of good defensive plays in transition against a speedy Buffalo team.
- I mentioned it in the post-game recap, but the Caps’ power play is ice cold right now, going scoreless on their last 23 opportunities. Such a shame that their next opponent has made headlines for the Vezina-caliber goaltending they’ve gotten this year. What a bummer.