Ovechkin scores 41st, Capitals defeat Sabres in shootout

BUFFALO -- Alex Ovechkin scored his 41st goal of the season, then had the deciding goal in the shootout to help the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 win against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Friday.

Ovechkin tied it 3-3 at 16:47 of the third period from the top of the right circle off a face-off win by Evgeny Kuznetsov. It was his ninth goal in his past 11 games.
"It was a bouncing puck," Kuznetsov said. "And every time the puck is bouncing like that, I think it's hard for the goalie, especially, you know, big man when he's shooting from there, it's tough to catch the puck."
With the assist on the goal, Kuznetsov extended his point streak to 11 games (14 points; seven goals, seven assists), the longest by a Capitals player since a 14-game run by Ovechkin from Nov. 16-Dec. 15, 2018.
"He's been very good the entire year," Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. "From the training camp right through to the start of the year to where we are now. His speed and his creativity and his offense is dynamic out there. He really pushes the pace for us offensively."

Ilya Samsonov made 20 saves for the Capitals (36-20-10), who won for the first time in three games.
Jeff Skinner scored two goals, and Dustin Tokarski made 37 saves for the Sabres (23-33-9), who were denied a season-high fourth win in a row and had a fourth straight game decided in overtime or the shootout.
"I think we battled the entire game," Buffalo coach Don Granato said. "We just weren't sharp. We didn't have our A-game tonight and we battled that, but we battled it the right way. … It was a positive sign to see. I didn't think our guys felt their game, but they figured out how to play when you're not feeling good and against a really tough team. So we found a way to get a point and we were in there, and could have almost gotten two points."

With the Washington victory, the Montreal Canadiens were eliminated from contention for the Stanley Cup Playoffs.
Anthony Mantha gave the Capitals a 1-0 lead at 9:15 of the first period. Nicklas Backstrom fed him with a backhand at the front of the net, and Mantha lifted a backhand over Tokarski's outstretched glove.
Skinner tied it 1-1 at 15:49. After his pass attempt to Tage Thompson bounced off Thompson's skate back to Skinner, he cut to the middle and scored with a backhand from the slot.
Nick Jensen put Washington up 2-1 at 4:06 of the second period on a shot through traffic from the top of the right circle.
Skinner tied it 2-2 at 10:23 when his shot from the right circle off a far-side pass from Mattias Samuelsson beat Samsonov through the five-hole after a long shift for the Sabres in the offensive zone. Buffalo had a 5-on-4 because Washington defenseman John Carlson left the ice after his helmet came off.
"[Casey Mittelstadt's] line was rolling around in there for maybe a minute before we got out there," Skinner said. "We knew that they were tired. … [Carlson] lost his helmet so 5-on-4 for a little bit there. It was a nice play by 'Sammy' to recognize I was open there. I just tried to get in and take as much space as I could, and fortunately it went in."

Victor Olofsson gave the Sabres a 3-2 lead at 12:55 near the right post after taking a pass across the front of the net from Mittelstadt.
That led Laviolette to call a timeout.
"I thought we did really good early and then I think right at the time they put their push on in the second period, I think we kind of let up a little bit," Jensen said. "So it wasn't completely us giving them that game, I think they earned a lot in that second period and that's why they kind of jumped ahead. But I thought after that goal, that third goal they had, we had a good shift and kind of got our momentum back going and kind of equalized the game a little bit there, and allowed us to get a point and then in the shootout the extra point."
NOTES: The Capitals got their sixth consecutive road win against the Sabres dating to Jan. 14, 2021, tied for their longest active streak against one opponent (Detroit Red Wings, dating to Oct. 20, 2017). … Ovechkin's goal was his 1,397th point, one behind Jari Kurri for 21st in NHL history. … Jensen's goal was his fifth of the season, an NHL career high. … It was Skinner's eighth multigoal game of the season, fifth most in the NHL behind Leon Draisaitl of the Edmonton Oilers (13), Auston Matthews of the Toronto Maple Leafs (11), David Pastrnak of the Boston Bruins (10) and Matt Duchene of the Nashville Predators (nine). … The Sabres last went to overtime in four consecutive games March 10-17, 2012, when they went 2-0-2.