‘Shot ourselves in the foot’ | Second-period struggles lead to OT loss in Washington

WASHINGTON – They collected a point, but the Buffalo Sabres fell victim to a familiar problem – and a familiar face – on Saturday at Capital One Arena.

Second-period defensive breakdowns and two goals by Alex Tuch, including the 3-on-3 winner, handed the Sabres a 4-3 overtime loss against the Washington Capitals.

Buffalo (4-4-3) came out buzzing, and Jack Quinn opened the scoring 6:27 in with his team-leading sixth goal. Scoring first hadn’t been a huge issue for the Sabres – they’ve now done so in six of 11 games. But for the first time, they extended that early lead, going up 2-0 on Josh Doan’s second goal of the season.

The Capitals got on the board before the first intermission, with a Tuch centering pass redirecting off Tage Thompson’s stick and in. Tough puck luck, for sure, but the result of a failure to clear the defensive zone.

“We isolated one guy, all we needed was a little play on the wall and we’re breaking out,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “We chose putting the puck into the middle, and that hurt us.”

Washington flipped the score with a pair of second-period goals, both by Dylan Strome and both moments after Buffalo survived a penalty kill. On Strome’s first, he got alone atop the crease, settled a bouncing rebound and dragged a backhand around Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen’s pad. On his second, Strome found room between the Sabres’ defenders and buried a feed from behind the net.

The Sabres now rank near the bottom of the league with a minus-11 second-period goal differential. In Saturday’s second, they managed six scoring chances to Washington’s 14.

“It’s something we really have to focus on now moving forward,” said captain Rasmus Dahlin. “I feel like we start strong and then feel good about the first period. We’ve got to remember it’s 60 minutes, and we have to push every single shift.”

If the hockey gods owed the Sabres one after Tuch’s goal, they paid the debt early in the third period. Noah Östlund’s wide-angle one-timer ricocheted off a cluster of sticks and bodies in the crease before trickling across the goal line, tying it 3-3.

In the third, meanwhile, Buffalo’s plus-eight differential ranks among the NHL’s best.

“We’ve got to find a way to use that intensity in the third earlier in games,” Doan said. “I think our third period’s been really good all year, and we’ve shot ourselves in the foot and started from behind in the majority of those.”

The Sabres feel they could have, maybe should have won it in regulation. Unconverted scoring chances included, in the second period, a Zach Benson shorthanded breakaway and a point-blank Mattias Samuelsson shot robbed by goalie Charlie Lindgren. In the third, Dahlin and Tage Thompson both hit the crossbar, and the team couldn’t take the lead on back-to-back power plays.

“There were some big mistakes by both teams,” Ruff said. “They capitalized on a couple of ours, and I thought we could’ve capitalized on a couple of theirs.”

“I think there’s a lot of areas of our game that aren’t clicking fully right now, and that’s part of it: We’re not capitalizing on chances that I think a lot of us normally would capitalize on,” added Doan. “It’s one of those things where when it rains, it pours, and (when) it’s not working for you, it keeps piling up. A lot of guys are hoping just to see one hit the back of the net and build off that.”

UPL in net

Four goals aside, Luukkonen was a major reason the Sabres walked away with a point. His 30-save night included a collection of Grade-A saves that kept things within reach in the second period and tied in the third. Luukkonen also made two tough stops to extend overtime.

In total, Washington’s offense generated 29 scoring chances, nine coming on the rush, and 14 inner-slot shot attempts.

“There’s not much you can ask for on the goals against tonight, and I think that’s become a common theme: We’ve let him down,” Doan said. “I think everyone in this room knows that we’ve let Upie down, and that’s on us. … I think we all owe him a huge apology right now.”

OT puck possession

Ryan McLeod won the opening faceoff, and the Sabres possessed the puck three separate times in overtime. They were credited with two total shot attempts – one on goal, both by Dahlin – before Tuch ended it with 1:18 remaining.

The Sabres are now 2-2 in games decided by 3-on-3 this season, and Dahlin and Ruff feel they should be doing more with their opportunities there, too.

“It’s bounces here and there, but I think picks, take advantage of their mistakes, hold onto it a little longer when they’re tired,” Dahlin said.” You don’t really talk about overtime that much, because it doesn’t happen very often, but for us, it’s been happening quite a bit now, so have to be better in the 3-on-3.”

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres visit the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday at 10:30 p.m. EDT. The national-only broadcast will be on ESPN.