Oshie scores shootout winner as Capitals beat Sabres 3-2 originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Capitals played their second game in 24 hours Saturday night in Buffalo and earned a 3-2 shootout win over the Sabres. T.J. Oshie scored the winner for the Capitals in the shootout.
Washington is now 17-5-6 on the season and will hit the road for two straight road games in Chicago and Winnipeg in the next week.
Here are a few takeaway’s from the team’s game in Buffalo:
Capitals earn second straight overtime win
After a horrendous start to the year after regulation, the Capitals have rebounded back to win their last two games after 60 minutes with another shootout win. Oshie’s five-hole winner beat Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen in the third round.
The team is now 2-6 in overtime/shootout games this season.
Washington didn’t play a shootout in its first 23 games of the season, and has now lasted to a shootout in three of its last five games.
Fehervary rejoins lineup, scores tying goal
The Capitals got some welcome news on the injury front as defenseman Martin Fehervary was in the lineup Saturday night after taking a scary hit against the Penguins just a night prior.
Fehervary has been one of the team’s best young players this season and avoiding a long-term injury to a top-pairing defender was good news for the Capitals.
And in the third period against the Sabres, he tied the game with a booming slap shot on a feed from Alex Ovechkin. Just 24 hours prior it appeared Fehervary wouldn’t be in the lineup, but he was back on the ice again and helped the Capitals tie the score in the third. It was the team’s only goal that period.
Vanecek gets the start in net
After Ilya Samsonov has taken the majority of starts over the last month or so for the Capitals, they went to Vitek Vanecek on the second half of a back-to-back Saturday against the Sabres.
Vanecek made 28 saves on 30 shots in just his second appearance of December and his fifth appearance in the last month. He also earned the win in the shootout.
The second-year netminder is now 5-3-5 so far this season.
Wilson doesn’t make trip
There wasn’t just good news on the injury side of things for the Capitals, as winger Tom Wilson didn’t make the trip to Buffalo. He is day-to-day with an upper-body injury, suffered when he crashed into the Penguins’ net Friday night.
Wilson was one of just eight Capitals entering the game that had played in all of the team’s games this season. He’s scored nine goals and has 15 assists in 27 games so far this season.
The Capitals have battled injury woes all season long, and Wilson’s latest injury was just another addition to the pile.
