Sabres Capitalize on Chances

The Buffalo Sabres were happy the Washington Capitals proved to be generous hosts.

Maxim Afinogenov and Slava Kozlov scored early goals for Buffalo as the Sabres took advantage of defensive breakdowns for a 5-2 victory over the Capitals on Wednesday night.

The Capitals have been struggling on defense in recent games, missing key players such as Calle Johansson, and Buffalo wanted to pressure Washington into making mistakes.

“You look at their defense and they’re missing some very good players,” Buffalo Coach Lindy Ruff said. “If you don’t take advantage of that, you’re kicking yourself.”

The Sabres forced several mistakes as their quickness proved too much for the Capitals in the early minutes. Buffalo took seven of the first nine shots and spent much of the first period in the Washington zone.

“Their speed overwhelmed our defense early on in the game,” Coach Ron Wilson said. “We allowed them to get in alone on [goalie Olaf] Kolzig. We have to find a way to correct that.”

Afinogenov and Kozlov gave Buffalo a 2-0 lead in the first six minutes, catching Washington defenseman Joe Reekie out of position twice.

“If they’re playing a little sluggish, you’ve got to try to put them down right away,” Buffalo goalie Martin Biron said.

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Chicago 3, Vancouver 3--Rookie Mike Peluso scored at 7:18 of the third period, giving the Blackhawks a tie at Chicago.

Steve Poapst and Tony Amonte also scored to help the Blackhawks improve to 9-0-3 at home.

The Blackhawks have gone seven games without a victory. Chicago has not won since defeating San Jose, 3-2, in overtime Nov. 11 at the United Center.

Henrik Sedin, Ed Jovanovski and Jason Strudwick scored for the Canucks.

Vancouver killed Chicago’s six power-play chances and has allowed one power-play goal in 30 opportunities in the last six games.

Peter Skudra, who started his second game since signing with the Canucks on Nov. 7, made 27 saves. Chicago’s Jocelyn Thibault blocked 27 shots.