Sabres 2, Capitals 1 (SO)
BUFFALO, N.Y. -- Goaltender Ryan Miller made 49 saves and stopped all six shooters in the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals on Sunday.
Buffalo captain Steve Ott scored the game-winning goal in the sixth round of the shootout. Ott fired a wrist shot past Washington goalie Philipp Grubauer high to the goalie's blocker side. Miller stopped Washington defenseman Mike Green on Washington's final attempt.
Miller was sensational and continues to make a strong case to be the starting goalie for USA Hockey at the upcoming Winter Olympics. The Sabres were outshot 50-17 in the victory but won due to the heroics of their goalie.
Right winger Drew Stafford scored in regulation for the Sabres (11-24-4).
Right winger Troy Brouwer scored in regulation for the Capitals (20-14-5).
Brouwer tied the game at 1-1 5:34 into the third period with a blast from just inside the left circle that went into the top left corner of the net. After a turnover from Ott in the Sabres end, C Mikhail Grabovski fed Brouwer for his eighth goal of the season.
Stafford gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead before the end of the second period despite Buffalo being outshot by a 30-10 margin. Stafford deflected defenseman Christian Ehrhoff's shot from the left wall past Grubauer for his fourth goal of the season with 1:42 left in the second. It was Stafford's second goal in five games after going 17 games without scoring.
The Capitals dominated the first period but were unable to get on the scoreboard through 20 minutes. Washington outshot Buffalo 15-3 in the first period. Buffalo didn't record its first shot on goal until there was 4:26 left in the period.
NOTES: This was the first of three meetings between the two teams this season. ... Heading into the game, Washington won three in a row against the Sabres. ... C Brooks Laich, D Alexander Urbom and G Michal Neuvirth were scratched for the Capitals. ... C Cody Hodgson and D Alexander Sulzer were scratched for the Sabres. Hodgson, Buffalo's top center, suffered an upper-body injury against the Boston Bruins on Dec. 19. ... This was the 144th game all-time between Buffalo and Washington. ... This was the seventh of 17 sets of back-to-back games this season for the Capitals. Washington goes up against the Ottawa Senators on Monday.
