The Buffalo Sabres arrived in Washington, DC, without any of the really big names that had littered their lineup.
No worries. On Thursday night, the new look Sabres defeated the Capitals, 5-2.
“Real credit to our entire team,” Sabres head coach Don Granato said. “We limited them in quality chances. We limited their shot selection and [Tokarski] stood tall for us. Lot of fun. Lot of fun when you see guys work that hard and get rewarded for it.”
Dustin Tokarski made 27 saves to get the win.
“It’s pretty incredible, to be honest,” Tokarsk said. “I lost my dad a few years back, so that was the first NHL win since he’s passed, so I was just pointing up to him for that special moment. And then all the guys were just awesome coming in. There’s nothing better for a goalie than celebrating with your teammates after a win.”
Dmitry Orlov and Anthony Mantha scored for the Capitals.
“I think we were lacking a little bit of compete level and poor decision-making at times just cost us today,” Washington’s Lars Eller said.
Sam Reinhart staked the Sabres to a 1-0 lead.
“Turnovers played a huge factor in it,” Capitals head coach Peter Laviolette said. “A lot of times you turn the puck over because you’re not moving the way you’re capable of moving. Your strides, you’re on your toes, and they were on their toes tonight. They were forcing the issue.”
After the Caps tied it at 1-1, Victor Olafsson and Casey Mittelstadt gave Buffalo a 3-1 lead.
Mantha scored his goal to cut the lead to 3-2.
Anders Bjork restored the two-goal lead with a strike for Buffalo.
“‘Bjorky’ made a nice play, just tipped it up to me,” Mittelstadt said. “I actually kind of thought Bjorky would be with me, so I slowed down and looked back a little bit and he wasn’t there. It was one of those plays where it almost happened so quick, and you just look up and see a little bit of netting and just fire it, and sometimes it works out better than when you’re thinking about it and looking for a longer time.”
Tage Thompson scored an empty-net goal in the third period to make sure the Caps were not coming back.
Vitek Vanecek got the start for the Caps, but was given the hook after surrendering four goals and making 17 saves.
“The score is what it is at that point,” Laviolette said. “I don’t think we were very good in front of our goaltender, so I made a change.”
Craig Anderson made eight saves in a mop up role.
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