Jack Eichel scored the lone goal in a shootout to send the Sabres to a 4-3 victory over the Washington Capitals at Capital One Arena on Sunday afternoon.
WE WIN IT IN THE SHOOTOUT!#LetsGoBuffalo pic.twitter.com/bfqkSDo8MT
— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) January 24, 2021
Colin Miller, Victor Olofsson, and Eric Staal scored power-play goals for the Sabres. Linus Ullmark made 28 saves for his first victory of the season.
Justin Schultz, T.J. Oshie, and Nicklas Backstrom scored goals for the Capitals. Vitek Vanecek made 45 saves.
The Sabres erased deficits of 1-0 and 2-1 during the second period on the strength of their power play. Miller put them on the board midway through the period, utilizing a Staal screen to beat Vanecek with a shot from the point. After Oshie deflected a shot fro m Schultz in past Ullmark, Olofsson tied the game again with a one-timer from the right faceoff circle.
Special teams continued to dictate the third period. Staal scored to put the Sabres ahead, 3-2, with 12:36 remaining. Backstrom responded on the power play less than three minutes later, banking a shot in off Ullmark from behind the Buffalo goal line. Taylor Hall drew a penalty shot with 9:27 remaining but rung the post with his attempt.
Ullmark came up with two key stops late in the overtime period, including a breakaway save on Backstrom that sent the game to a shootout. Eichel scored on the first attempt and Ullmark did the rest to clinch the victory.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].