Marcus Johansson tipped in a rebound shot from Mathieu Perreault 10 minutes and 20 seconds into the third period to score a power play goal and give the Washington Capitals a critical 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres in Buffalo on Sunday. Perreault grabbed a long rebound surrendered by Ryan Miller on an Alex Ovechkin shot and fired it towards the net. Johansson snuck in front and got a stick on the puck to direct it past Miller for the score.
The goal was Johansson's ninth on the season, and it came in the way the Capitals have been preaching all year. He crashed the net, and good things happened.
The Sabres had several chances in the closing seconds, but the last serious one was cleared away when Brooks Laich blocked a shot attempt from the point. The Sabres had three face-offs in the Capitals' zone with under a minute remaining, but the Capitals cleared every one.
The Capitals took a 1-0 lead when Perreault scored 6:09 into the second period, but the Sabres answered on the power play under three minutes later when Jason Pominville scored his 14th goal of the season.
The Capitals had 39 shots on goal compared to just 29 for the Sabres. Semyon Varlamov made 28 saves to get the win, while Miller took the loss with 37 saves. The Capitals now have 72 points on the season, three ahead of sixth-place Montreal, while Buffalo remains tied for ninth with 60 points.