Isak Rosen scored the first goal of his NHL career and Bowen Byram scored the game-winning goal in the shootout as the Sabres beat the Capitals 4-3 on Saturday at KeyBank Center.
The Capitals opened the scoring with two goals 58 seconds apart as Dylan Strome and Aliaksei Protas gave Washington a 2-0 lead.
The Sabres responded 15 seconds after the Protas goal as Jason Zucker won a puck battle behind the net and found a wide-open Tage Thompson who netted his fifth goal of the year to make it 2-1. Thompson became the first Sabre since Thomas Vanek (2010 to 2013) to have a point streak of six or more games against Washington.
Buffalo evened the score at 2-2 midway through the opening stanza as Josh Doan dished a backhand pass to a streaking Alex Tuch who buried the tying tally.
Tuch has recorded at least one point in the last seven home games – the second longest such streak of his career and has 12 points in the last 10 games. Doan has nine points in his last nine games.
Rosen’s first career goal came in his season debut with Buffalo after being recalled from Rochester on Friday. Rosen – a 2021 first-round pick – received a pass from Jack Quinn who navigated between the circles, pulled a defenseman with him and found Rosen alone.
The Sabres carried a 3-2 lead into the second after scoring three goals over their first 10 shots and allowed one Capitals shot on goal over the final 8:40 of the opening period.
Sonny Milano scored his first goal of the season to make it 3-3 with less than a minute to play in the second period. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 18 straight shots before the Milano tally.
The Sabres killed off three penalties in the third period including one in the final four minutes to set up overtime. Luukkonen made five saves in the extra period for 31 total in the game.
Overtime wasn’t enough as the Sabres were in their first shootout of the season. Byram scored the game-winning goal and Luukkonen went a perfect 5-for-5 including a save on the all-time leading scorer Alex Ovechkin.
The Sabres moved to 5-4-3 and have at least one point in the standings in eight of the last nine games. Buffalo has at least one point in six straight games.
The Sabres continue their three-game homestand against the Utah Mammoth on Tuesday at KeyBank Center. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop set for 7 p.m. Tickets are available here.
