Buffalo Sabres rebound against Capitals: 3 takeaways

We share our takes as the Buffalo Sabres rebound from Saturday’s loss to the Dallas Stars, by beating the Washington Capitals 3-1.

At the weekend, the Dallas Stars jumped on the Buffalo Sabres early. The resulting 5-1 loss to the men in green frustrated fans and players alike.

Tuesday night was a different story. The Buffalo Sabres kept the Washington Capitals’ stars in check which resulted in a very close game.

Goals from Evander Kane and Benoit Pouliot capped off the Caps in a 3-1 victory for Buffalo. Here are our three takeaways from the game:

1) Robin Lehner keeping cool

It’s not a nice feeling for a goaltender when five goals are put in your last contest. Phil Housley decided to put Lehner right back into the cage, and it only proved to be for the good.

The Swede rebounded very well on Tuesday night, with 25 saves and a .960 save percentage. The 26-year-old absolutely robbed Devante Smith-Pelly with a sublime kick save off of a one-time attempt.

Alex Ovechkin did fire a cannon of a wrist shot past Lehner in the second period, but giving Ovi space in the slot only results in bad things for the opposition. Regardless, Lehner helped out a depleted Buffalo d-core that was missing players such as Rasmus Ristolainen, with an outstanding performance.