Andrey SenchenkoSport correspondentAll materialsLeave to the authorAfter two defeats in a row in home games with Dallas and St. Louis, Washington Capitals hockey players went to the US-Canada border in Buffalo for a match with the local Sabers. The Blades are spending another nondescript season, during which, to this day, they have already managed to play twice with the Capitals. Both games ended in favor of Peter Laviolette's men, but Buffalo's recent three-game winning streak and five wins in total in the last six games gave Sabers fans hope for success in the confrontation with the Caps. And there really was something to count on . Despite almost double the advantage of “Washington” on shots on target, in terms of play, the guests did not look much better than “Buffalo”. “Blade”, although not so often created a danger at the gates of Ilya Samsonov, but they did it efficiently and effectively. Sometimes Samsonov was frankly lucky, although he still missed three goals. Both times it was personally performed by Jeff Skinner. First, the Canadian Buffalo forward responded to Anthony Manta's goal in the first period, and then to Nick Jensen's goal in the second. Subsequently, Victor Olofsson turned the game around and made the Sabres contenders for victory. /c-11091446?autostart=false» width=»540″ height=»360″>True, not for long. In accordance with the trend of the current season, the Russians have to save the skin of the “capital” at a crucial moment, namely, Alexander Ovechkin and Evgeny Kuznetsov. Partners in the first link, “Washington” to delay the return to the game did not, and a few minutes after Olofsson's goal restored the status quo. And they did it as simply as possible: Kuznetsov, having won the face-off in someone else's zone, rolled the puck under Ovechkin's throw, and Alexander sent the projectile into the far upper corner with a classic one-timer. How many such goals Ovechkin has thrown in his entire career, but still his opponents cannot neutralize him. Before Gordie Howe in the list of the best snipers in the history of the NHL, Ovi remained 30 goals, before Jari Kurri in the ranking of the league's top scorers — only one point. But in addition to sniper skills, Alexander had to demonstrate his ability to play defense. In many ways, Ovi himself contributed to this: the captain of “Washington” did not keep the puck in the middle zone and allowed the players of the “Sabres” to escape into a dangerous counterattack. The attack could have ended in a goal, but Samsonov managed to make two saves in a row. After the second, the Russian goalkeeper rolled out of inertia far beyond the goalkeeper's zone and unwittingly left the possessions empty. All the same Olofsson was ready to take advantage of the opponent's mistake, but his shot was blocked by Ovechkin. Alexander managed to put his foot and take the puck on himself, not allowing the “blades” to snatch victory in the end of the match.
