Sabres' win over Caps a reminder of what they could have accomplished this season

WASHINGTON – A sellout crowd in Capital One Arena let out a collective gasp as the puck reached Alex Ovechkin.

As one of the greatest goal-scorers in NHL history prepared to shoot at the Buffalo' Sabres net with under a minute remaining, Ryan McLeod dropped to the ice to block the puck from reaching his goalie, James Reimer.

Every player on the Sabres' bench tapped their sticks against the boards and, a few seconds later, they craned their necks to view the other end of the ice as Peyton Krebs outmuscled an opponent to sweep the puck into the Washington Capitals' empty net to secure Buffalo's 8-5 win.

"I feel like we have a better mentality now," said Sabres captain Rasmus Dahlin. "When it’s a tight or close game, we just keep going. That’s kind of what we struggled with early on in the season. I think we’ve matured throughout the season and kind of learned that a one-goal game is no problem. That’s the biggest lesson we’ve learned this year."

The Sabres beat the top two teams in the NHL, Washington and Winnipeg, on the road in a span of eight days. They've won seven of their last 11 games overall, and their 7-8-1 record in March featured wins over five playoff teams. The Capitals had not allowed more than five goals in a game all season, and they were 24-7-6 on home ice. 

Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch scored two goals apiece against the Eastern Conference's top team. Jack Quinn chipped in a goal with two assists. McLeod and Sam Lafferty had a goal apiece during a second period that coach Lindy Ruff called one of the Sabres' best on the road this season. Reimer made 24 saves for Buffalo, and his teammates blocked 20 shots. 

The fast-paced, tension-filled game was filled with moments that illustrated how the Sabres need to play each night next season if they're going to snap a playoff drought that dates to 2011. They didn't turn the puck over as often as they did in their disappointing 7-4 loss Saturday in Philadelphia against the struggling Flyers, and they gave the Capitals only two power plays. Buffalo had leads of 2-1, 4-2, 6-3 and, finally, 8-5. 

"We know that if we eliminate some of the [mistakes with the puck] we can beat almost anybody," said Ruff. "We’re getting better at it. I don’t think we’re quite there, but we’re getting better at it."

The maturity and discipline the Sabres showed throughout the game made Ruff more comfortable with how close it was in the end. They scored three goals in the second period and built a three-goal lead with 14:08 left in the third period when Quinn scored on a breakaway after taking the puck from Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun.

The Capitals rallied with Ovechkin's 890th career goal, only four from the NHL's all-time record, and Pierre-Luc Dubois tipped a shot on a power play to cut the Sabres' lead to 6-5 with 5:57 remaining. There were no signs of panic on their bench, according to Thompson and Dahlin. The club crumbled in similar situations earlier this season, most notably their two losses to the Colorado Avalanche.

Alex Tuch gave the Sabres breathing room with his second goal of the game and 31st this season. He tipped Mattias Samuelsson's shot with 4:26 left to give Buffalo another two-goal lead, then McLeod and Connor Clifton blocked a shot apiece before Krebs clinched the win with the empty-netter. 

"If you want to be a winning hockey team, that’s the type of game you’ve got to play," said Thompson. "I think that speaks volumes to the guys that we have in the room and that we are hungry to get better and turn this thing around. So, it’s an unfortunate way that the season has gone, and we’ve had to learn things the hard way. I feel like I’ve been saying that for a long time now, but it’s nice to see some traction of guys committing to playing the game the right way."

Despite the recent improvement, Buffalo is tied for 28th in the NHL and sits 10 points out of a playoff spot with nine games remaining. It has as many regulation wins as the second wild-card team, Montreal, and its 5-on-5 goal differential is better than Ottawa, which is in position to snap a seven-year postseason drought. 

Thompson has 38 goals, Dahlin's 500th NHL game arrived at a time when the 24-year-old defenseman is playing the best hockey of his career and JJ Peterka improved on the breakout that he had last season. There are so many what-ifs about this season. 

What if the Sabres' won half of the games during their monthlong winless streak? What if Dahlin didn't miss eight of the 13 games? What if the power play ranked 15th in the NHL instead of 26th? It ranks 14th since Feb. 1. What if Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made a few more clutch saves? What if the Sabres didn't lose those games after chasing the backup goalie? What if they were better than 22-13-5 when scoring first? What if they didn't allow the second-most second-period goals?

"We know our game," said Dahlin. "We know we have something we can fall back on. ... You just have to stick with it and make sure you have a better shift next time."

Here are other takeaways from the game:

1. Steady

Tuch has been of the Sabres’ most consistent players this season.

He’s gone scoreless in four consecutive games only twice through 73 games, and he reached the 30-goal mark for the second time in three seasons. His five short-handed goals lead the NHL, while he ranks first among forwards in blocked shots and second in takeaways. Tuch is also a team-best plus-11, and he leads their forwards in average time on ice (19:23). Tuch's first goal happened less than three minutes after Chychrun cut Buffalo's lead to 3-2 in the second period, and Tuch's second helped the Sabres hold on.

"He’s put himself in a place where he’s always there to create that opportunity, even when we’re down," said Ruff.

2. Top player

Peterka is earning a significant raise with his play this season.

The 23-year-old winger’s assist on the Sabres’ first goal was the latest example of how he’s developed into an excellent playmaker. He could have tried to score for the seventh time in 11 games but snapped a low shot as soon as he saw Thompson and Tuch parked at the far post. Thompson was ready to convert the rebound to tie it 1-1. Peterka has 13 goals and 26 points in his last 24 games, and his 58 points are eight more than the career high he set last season. 

"I think I’ve seen a pretty big growth in his game, just in puck battles and 50/50s and playing hard in the D-zone, too," said Thompson. "I think that kind of goes back to what I was saying about everyone buying into playing the game the way it needs to be played."

3. Trust

Ruff wanted Zach Benson to know that getting benched twice Saturday in Philadelphia was not a sign the coach is displeased with the second-year winger.

In fact, Ruff is fond of Benson and routinely boasts about the 19-year-old forward’s competitiveness. The problem, however, is Benson’s habit of taking offensive-zone penalties. His 58 penalty minutes are 22 more than he had as a rookie last season. It’s an area of Benson’s game that will need to be fixed if the Sabres are going to rely on him to be a top-six forward. He was on the ice in key situations Sunday and finished with 15:58 of ice time.

“I’ll say this, I love that kid," said Ruff. "I told him I love him as a player, but I don’t like some of the penalties that he’s taken and that is the area that we’re going to clean up."

4. Return

Dahlin wasn't expected to play in Washington.

He missed the Flyers game Saturday because of an illness that's caused some of his teammates to miss multiple games. Dahlin gutted it out Sunday and led the Sabres with 22:18 of ice time. The analytics don't properly illustrate the impact that he had in his return. His presence also allowed Ruff to use his other defensemen less. 

5. Next

The Sabres are aiming for a season sweep over the Senators when the two play at 7 p.m. Tuesday in Ottawa.