Though it still may be the preseason. based on Friday's game, the Washington Capitals are in mid-season form.
Nicklas Backstrom's sixth-round shootout goal lifted the Caps to a come-from-behind 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres at Verizon Center.
Backstrom finished the scoring, but actually opened it as well in the first period to give the Caps a 1-0 lead at 8:06. Yet, the Sabres responded 20 seconds later when Jason Pominville scored off of a rebound. Thomas Vanek scored his first of two goals Friday near the end of the first period to give the Sabres a 2-1 lead after 20 minutes.
Mike Green tied the game at 2-2 midway through the second period on the power play, but Vanek responded with his second goal of the night about four minutes later to once again give Buffalo the lead at 3-2. That lead stood until late in the third period when Matt Hendricks put Mike Green's rebound past Ryan Miller at 13:33 to tie the game at 3-3.
After a scoreless overtime, Washington looked to have the shootout won in the third round after Alex Ovechkin and Alexander Semin scored on back-to-back attempts, but Pominville beat Tomas Vokoun (21 saves) to keep the shootout going. It was not until Backstrom's goal in the sixth round that the Caps held on for the victory after Vokoun stopped Luke Adam.
At 2-3-1, Washington has one preseason game remaining Sunday against the Chicago Blackhawks. The regular season begins next Saturday at Verizon Center against the Carolina Hurricanes.