BUFFALO, N.Y. — For nearly 35 minutes last night Brent Johnson carried the Washington Capitals, making it look like the team’s goaltender might steal a game for the second time in less than a week.
A furious offensive flurry by the Buffalo Sabres at the end of the second period squelched that hope.
The Sabres scored four times in a 4:33 span, sending the Caps to their second loss in as many nights 7-3 in front of 18,690 at HSBC Arena.
“After they started coming at us hard in the second period, it was almost unbearable for a little bit,” Johnson said. “It felt like the ice was tilted the other way.”
Johnson was spectacular at times in the first 35 minutes, stopping the first 30 shots he faced. But Buffalo defenseman Jaroslav Spacek beat him with a one-timer from Brian Campbell on the power play 14:51 into the period to tie the game 1-1.
It didn’t stay tied for long. Thomas Vanek tried a stuff attempt from the right of Johnson, but he lost control of the puck. It went right to Maxim Afinogenov on the other side of the crease, and he buried it into an open net 11 seconds after Spacek’s tally.
A little more than two minutes later the puck bounced over defenseman Brian Pothier’s stick on the blue line at the offensive end, and it led to a 2-on-1 for the Sabres. Jochen Hecht fed Jason Pominville with a hard, tape-to-tape pass and he directed past Johnson for a two-goal advantage.
None of those goals could really be deemed Johnson’s fault, but the fourth one was. Adam Mair had trouble controlling a bouncing puck to the right of Johnson, so he directed it toward the net, and it squirted past the Caps netminder under his right armpit.
The final damage was four goals in seven shots — pretty similar to the six goals in 10:06 Johnson yielded at HSBC last season on Dec. 26.
“[Johnson] was the show, but you knew it couldn’t go on forever,” Caps coach Glen Hanlon said. “You can play well, but you can’t just totally win games single-handedly.”
It was the third straight game the Caps have been totally dominated in the shot column. The Islanders outshot the Caps 31-12 on Monday afternoon in Uniondale, N.Y., the Rangers outshot them 41-25 in Manhattan on Friday and the Sabres finished with a 53-26 advantage in Buffalo last night.
It was also the second straight night Washington yielded 37 shots in the first 40 minutes. In other words, it was not a nice six days in New York state for the Caps and their new focus on puck possession.
“The last two years the identity of the Washington Capitals is that we drive hard down the wing and we get pucks to the net,” Brooks Laich said. “We’ve added more skill but we’re still a hard-nose hockey team. We’re trying to make plays in the neutral zone through legs and through sticks. That’s not our style of game.”
Michael Nylander put the Caps in front 11:24 into the first period after a nifty give-and-go with fellow Swede Nicklas Backstrom.
Twice Washington cut the deficit to two goals in the third period, and both times Buffalo responded with a goal less than two minutes later. Mike Green came out of the penalty box, collected the puck and put it past Sabres goalie Ryan Miller, who got caught in between coming out to play it or wait for Green to come to him.
Alex Ovechkin continued his season-long point streak with a power play goal to make it 5-3. Tom Poti fed a pass into the slot, and it redirected off Nylander’s stick to Ovechkin, who was perched to the right of Miller.
Fifty seconds later Derek Roy ended any doubt. The puck came free behind Johnson, and Roy slipped a backhanded shot through the legs of Caps defenseman John Erskine, who was dropping to his knees.
After leaving the District on Thursday as one of the surprises in the league after a 3-0 start, the Caps will have four days to regroup before starting a four-game homestand against the Islanders on Thursday night.
“It is five games into the season,” Hanlon said. “We’ve got good hockey players who have played well for us, and they will again. The system works and we’ve proved it. You don’t blow up the dam in two games. It has worked, and we just have to do it better. We stay with what we do and we stay the course.”
Caps report
Last night at HSBC Arena in Buffalo, N.Y.
TRANSACTIONS
The Caps recalled forward Joe Motzko from Hershey yesterday afternoon. The Caps had an open roster spot, so no counter move was necessary. But Motzko did take Brian Sutherby’s place in the active lineup.
Motzko got his name on the Stanley Cup last season with Anaheim. He did not play during the regular season for the Ducks (he suited up seven times for Columbus), but they called on him for three playoff games, including one in the Cup finals. He has one goal in 11 career regular-season games.
QUOTABLE
“Somebody asked if this was a good measuring stick before coming on this [trip]. The answer was “Yes, we”ll see where we are.” As the coaching staff, we are armed with lots of ammunition.” ”
” Caps coach Glen Hanlon
BY THE NUMBERS
69 Goals scored for the Sabres by Daniel Briere and Chris Drury last season before both left as free agents this summer
87.25 Million dollars, the combined worth of the contracts signed by Briere (eight years, $52 million) and Drury (five years, $35.25 million)
” Corey Masisak
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