Sabres use a series of firsts to top Washington 4-3 in a shootout
Isak Rosen scored his first NHL goal, and Bowen Byram scored his first career shootout goal in the Buffalo Sabres' 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.
Sabres left winger Isak Rosen scores his first career goal in the first period of Saturday's game against the Capitals at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
The Buffalo Sabres successfully wrapped up a night of firsts in a 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals on Saturday at KeyBank Center.
Isak Rosen scored his first NHL goal, a shot from the right circle off a pass from linemate Jack Quinn that beat Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren with 1:15 left in the first period.
Bowen Byram scored his first career shootout goal. It decided the game in favor of the Sabres, but didn’t count toward the defenseman’s scoring total.
Sabres right winger Peyton Krebs, right, celebrates a 4-3 shootout victory over the Capitals with defenseman Bowen Byram at KeyBank Center on Saturday.
Harry Scull Jr., Buffalo News
Byram will gladly regard the bigger picture. His shootout goal helped the Sabres (5-4-3) win their first game in four extra sessions so far this season.
Prior to Saturday, the Sabres had lost three straight games in overtime: 4-3 on Oct. 25 at Toronto; 4-3 on Oct. 28 against Columbus and 4-3 on Thursday at Boston. They erased an early 2-0 deficit in the first 2:15 against the Capitals before going the distance to earn the shootout win and two points.
What was it like to finally shake the albatross from the Sabres’ neck?
“It was great,” said Rosen, who joined the team Friday from Rochester of the American Hockey League, after Zach Benson (lower-body injury) was put on injured reserve. “We battled hard the whole game. Even in the third, we didn’t play our best hockey, but we battled hard, and it’s great to take the extra point.”
Byram was candid when asked his shootout strategy.
“I didn’t really have one,” he said. “I just went out to see what happened.”
He wasn’t shocked when his number was called, though.
There was no complicated logic to sending Byram to the line in the shootout. He scored on Lindgren after Quinn, Tage Thompson, Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin couldn’t beat the Capitals goalie in the first four rounds.
Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped Dylan Strome, Anthony Beauvillier, Connor McMichael and Alexander Ovechkin before stopping Ryan Leonard after Byram’s shootout goal.
“Practice reps they do,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said of his rationale to use Byram. “It got down to several guys we had on the list, and I had to choose between a couple and I probably surprised a few guys when I said ‘Bo,’ but he rewarded us with a goal. It was a big goal.”
Third-period penalty kill
The Sabres’ penalty killers finished 4-for-4 against the Capitals, killing off three penalties in the third period, after Washington’s Sonny Milano tied the score with 42.6 seconds left in the second period.First, the Sabres killed off a tripping penalty called against Peyton Krebs at 6:09. Seventeen seconds after that penalty expired, they had to kill off a tripping penalty against Beck Malenstyn.
Then, with 3:12 left in the third, Tuch was whistled for holding. That gave Washington its best chance to score the decisive goal. Ovechkin’s one-timer from the left circle – his trademark move – with 2:16 left in regulation went high of the Sabres goal, and Ryan McLeod intercepted a pass at the top of the zone seconds before the penalty to Tuch expired, effectively ending the Capitals’ final power play.
Ruff wasn’t thrilled with the fact his team took three penalties in the third period, and said they cannot continue to take multiple penalties, particularly in the final minutes of regulation. The Sabres also took two penalties in the third period Thursday at Boston.
“It puts a lot of stress on the killers,” Ruff said.
But, he added, “I don’t think our penalty killers gave up, and that’s how good they were.”
The Capitals finished with just three power-play shots in the third against the Sabres, who entered the weekend third in the NHL in penalty killing (89.5%).
“That’s been the whole season,” Luukkonen said. “How well we’ve been killing penalties and how well the guys are ready to put themselves on the line, block shots and make plays on the penalty kill. It’s been awesome to see.”
Keeping Ovie in check
Ovechkin still can’t reach the 900-goal plateau. Washington’s star wing remains at 899 goals after the Sabres kept him scoreless in 19:15 on the ice.Ovechkin has two goals with five assists in 12 games this season. His next shot at the mark comes Wednesday, when the Capitals host St. Louis. He put three shots on goal and had five shot attempts blocked by the Sabres, including two by Mattias Samuelsson and one in overtime by Thompson, who continued to play during the extra session despite laboring through obvious pain in the 3-on-3 situation.
“Everybody knows how good (Ovechkin) is and how good of a shot he has,” said Luukkonen, who made 31 saves against the Capitals. “Being smart with it, having a guy close to him all the time and not let him shoot it was the biggest thing, and I think (Samuelsson) had a couple good blocks against him. That was the biggest thing, just to kind of have somebody a stick length from him, all the time.”
