Capitals 4, Sabres 3 (SO)
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Alex Ovechkin and Matt Hendricks scored in the shootout to lead the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at the First Niagara Center.
Hendricks, shooting first for the Capitals, beat Buffalo goalie Jhonas Enroth on a wrist shot after a strong deke to his forehand. Ovechkin, shooting second, sealed the deal after Buffalo's first two shooters missed.
The Capitals overcame a two-goal deficit in the third period on goals from Troy Brouwer and Mike Green. With Washington goalie Braden Holtby pulled, Green tied the score at 3 with 39.2 seconds left on a blast from the point. Brouwer cut Buffalo's lead to 3-2 2:43 into the third period on a short-handed goal.
Ovechkin also scored in regulation for the Capitals, picking up his 17th goal of the season. Holtby had 35 saves for Washington, which improved to 16-17-1.
Ville Leino scored twice for the Sabres, who fell to 13-16-6. Christian Ehrhoff also scored for Buffalo. Jhonas Enroth finished with 35 saves.
Ehrhoff got the Sabres on the board first at 3:01 of the first period with a wrist shot from the left circle. Ehrhoff dug the puck out from a scrum along the boards and skated into the circle for his fourth goal of the season.
Buffalo jumped out to a 2-0 lead early in the second period, but Washington quickly answered. Leino put home a rebound in front of the net for his first goal of the year at 1:19 of the second, but Ovechkin got one back for Washington on the power play at 2:21. Ovechkin ripped a wrist shot past Enroth from inside the left circle.
Leino gave the Sabres their two-goal lead back at 10:26 of the second period on the power play. After Tyler Myers' shot from the point struck traffic in front of the net, Leino tucked the loose puck into the net for his second of the game.
But the Capitals kept on coming, mounting the late comeback behind goals from Brouwer and Green. Washington outshot the Sabres 38-23 overall.
NOTES: Hours before the game, the Sabres traded defenseman Jordan Leopold to the St. Louis Blues for a second-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick. Leopold, 32, is a 10-year veteran who was in the third and final year of his contract with the Sabres. More trades may be on the horizon for the struggling Sabres, general manager Darcy Regier said before the game. "We have to be open to listening to just about anything and everything," Regier said. ... Buffalo leading scorer Thomas Vanek missed the game with an upper-body injury. John Scott was also scratched for the Sabres. ... Aaron Volpatti, Tomas Kundratek and Dmitry Orlov were scratched for the Capitals. ... This was the 143rd game between Buffalo and Washington. Heading into Saturday's game, the Sabres led the series with an 83-43-16 record.
