Sabres fail to cash in on their scoring chances
Ovechkin scores for Caps as Sabres' winless streak reaches four games
Published: November 25, 2009, 9:33 pm
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WASHINGTON — Derek Roy, Thomas Vanek and the Buffalo Sabres had their chances. They could be seen shaking their heads on the bench. Alexander Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals had their chances. They could be seen hugging, high-fiving and receiving ear-piercing standing ovations from their fans.
Any guesses which team ended its winless streak Wednesday night?
The Sabres failed to score for the second time this season, and their skid reached four games as the Capitals earned a 2-0 victory in Verizon Center. The Sabres are just 0-3-1 since a three-game winning streak.
The Sabres had opportunities to score and get back to the right side of the win-loss ledger. But, as has been the case over the past 11 games, they had the chances slip past them.
"We didn't get a lot of bounces with the puck," coach Lindy Ruff said. "We did a lot of good things but didn't get rewarded for it."
The game-winning-goal sequence was a prime example. It showed the difference between the Sabres' struggling scorers and the most prolific sniper in the world.
Roy and Jason Pominville had three pokes in a seven-second span, but none found the net. Ovechkin sped out of his zone, cut right just inside the Buffalo blue line and let loose with a laser that caught the left side of the net.
It was Ovechkin's 17th goal, which gave him a one-goal lead over the Sabres' top line of Roy (four goals), Pominville (five) and Vanek (seven).
"We missed a lot of chances," Roy said. "Those have got to go in sometime."
The Sabres entered the game 22nd in the NHL at 2.6 goals per game. The average has been lower during the 11-game malaise. They are scoring just 1.9 goals per outing.
"They're pressing," Ruff said. "They had some good try in them. They had some good battle. But they're pressing."
The Sabres got their big break 3:38 into the third period. Ovechkin, who might like hitting even more than scoring, was tossed for boarding Patrick Kaleta. Kaleta had a bloody nose, Ovechkin had a five-minute major and ejection, and the 18,277 fans had their blood boiling.
The red-clad faithful howled and chanted at the officials for tossing the league's most exciting player. The howls turned into a full-out party and standing ovation as Washington ended a three-game slide (0-1-2).
The Capitals killed the penalty (shortened by two minutes with a Craig Rivet tripping infraction just 45 seconds in) and outshot the Sabres in the process, 3-2.
They were two of the 25 saves made by Washington's Semyon Varlamov.
"This team battled hard," Roy said. "We stayed disciplined, but the one area that killed us was probably our five-minute power play, taking a penalty on it and not really getting any momentum."
The Sabres are just 4-6-1 in their past 11 games, bringing them back to the Eastern Conference pack after an 8-1-1 start.
The Sabres will return to Verizon Center this morning for practice before taking a train to Philadelphia. They visit the Flyers in a Friday matinee at 1 p.m. in Wachovia Center.
"It's a tough loss for us, but it's a step in the right direction," Roy said. "We can't keep losing. We've got to stop this right now. We're going into Philly, and all we're thinking about is two points."
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