Caps 4, Sabres 3
Just one more dress rehearsal left before the real thing mercifully begins next Saturday night. The Caps looked better in the third period of Friday’s 4-3 shootout win over Buffalo – but there is still work left to do. Read the major details in our game story here.
Thought Washington had a nice start. It controlled the puck for long stretches of the first eight minutes of play and Nicklas Backstrom’s goal on an assist from linemates Alex Ovechkin and Troy Brouwer was exactly what Bruce Boudreau wanted to see. Then the Sabres scored 20 seconds later. Yeah – not so good.
There communication issues between goalie Tomas Vokoun and his six defensemen, none of whom have played together as a unit this preseason. Two of Buffalo’s goals were deflections, but maybe they don’t go in if there was smoother chemistry between the players in the defensive zone.
Mike Green made a nice play on Ovechkin’s power-play goal at 10:03 of the second period that tied the game at 2. His pass had to be bounced hard enough to reach Ovechkin, a right-handed shot, or the puck would have slid harmlessly into his skates. Green then drove hard to the net with teammates Backstrom and Brouwer in tow. He poked Ovechkin’s shot past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller…or did he?
“Yeah – it was close to be honest with you,” Green said with a sheepish grin. “Thank god there’s no video replay.”
Added Boudreau: “It’s hard to score in this league and when you’re playing against Ryan Miller it’s even harder. So you better go to the net if you want to score – even though I think that puck was in before Mike touched it. Just a thought…I was looking at the jumbo screen.”
But there’s no question the Caps shook off a shaky 30 minutes in their own end. They outshout Buffalo 17-5 in the third period and kept stead pressure on Miller to tie the game and force the extra period and shootout. That in its own right is a confidence builder. Best period of the preseason?
“Yup. For sure. 100 percent,” Green said. “We showed our character, which I think – there was no [inkling] of giving up or anything. We were focused the whole time. Bruce came in and said what needed to be said before the second and third and we responded.”
As for the bubble players: Think Jay Beagle’s spot on the 23-man roster is safe? He did take an early hooking penalty, but otherwise had a secondary assist on Hendricks’ game-tying goal, was credited with four hits, three blocked shots and two faceoff wins.
“Yeah – and he’s energetic and he kills penalties,” Boudreau said. “He brings life to the team and in every practice he makes it very difficult for our team because he practices so hard all the time. That’s one of the reasons he’s here.”
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