Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals

Friday, December 26, 2008, 7:00 PM ET Verizon Center, Washington Regular Season Final

Final score

The Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 3–2 on Friday, December 26, 2008 at home.

Final score, Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
Team	Goals	2008-2009 record
Buffalo Sabres	2	41-32-9
at Washington Capitals	3	50-24-8

Goals by period, Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
Team	1st period	2nd period	3rd period	Total
Buffalo Sabres	0	0	2	2
Washington Capitals	0	1	2	3

Shots on goal by period, Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
Team	1st period	2nd period	3rd period	Total
Buffalo Sabres	8	7	9	24
Washington Capitals	15	8	11	34

Scoring summary

Every goal, Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals. Numbers in brackets are season totals.
Period	Time	Team	Goal	Assists	Type	Score
2nd	17:46	Washington Capitals	Viktor Kozlov (9)	Nicklas Backstrom (28), Bryan Helmer (2)	Even strength	BUF 0, WSH 1
3rd	01:58	Washington Capitals	Boyd Gordon (3)	Milan Jurcina (5)	Even strength	BUF 0, WSH 2
3rd	06:13	Buffalo Sabres	Thomas Vanek (25)	Drew Stafford (10), Jaroslav Spacek (17)	Power play	BUF 1, WSH 2
3rd	08:27	Washington Capitals	Alex Ovechkin (23)	Bryan Helmer (3)	Even strength	BUF 1, WSH 3
3rd	18:11	Buffalo Sabres	Maxim Afinogenov (2)	Toni Lydman (8), Ales Kotalik (9)	Even strength	BUF 2, WSH 3

Numbers in brackets are the player's season totals after the goal.

Buffalo Sabres skaters
Player	Position	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/minus	Penalty minutes	Shots on goal	Hits	Blocked shots	Power-play goals	Faceoff percentage	Time on ice
Number 9 D. Roy	C	0	0	0	-1	0	4	1	0	0	61.1%	21:14
Number 12 A. Kotalik	R	0	1	1	+1	0	3	1	0	0		14:55
Number 20 D. Paille	L	0	0	0	-1	0	2	0	0	0		15:53
Number 21 D. Stafford	R	0	1	1	-2	0	4	1	0	0		16:51
Number 22 A. Mair	C	0	0	0	+1	0	3	0	1	0	53.8%	15:05
Number 26 T. Vanek	L	1	0	1	0	0	2	2	1	1		15:56
Number 29 J. Pominville	R	0	0	0	0	0	3	0	0	0		20:47
Number 37 M. Ellis	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	50%	07:11
Number 41 C. MacArthur	L	0	0	0	-1	0	0	2	1	0		16:13
Number 55 J. Hecht	C	0	0	0	-2	2	1	0	2	0	35.3%	18:52
Number 61 M. Afinogenov	R	1	0	1	0	0	1	0	0	0		09:06
Number 76 A. Peters	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0		01:38
Number 5 T. Lydman	D	0	1	1	-1	2	0	4	3	0		22:13
Number 6 J. Spacek	D	0	1	1	-2	2	0	1	4	0		22:10
Number 10 H. Tallinder	D	0	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0		23:25
Number 27 T. Numminen	D	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	0		16:35
Number 34 C. Butler	D	0	0	0	0	0	1	0	2	0		12:09
Number 44 A. Sekera	D	0	0	0	-2	2	0	2	2	0		22:49

Buffalo Sabres goalies
Goalie	Shots against	Saves	Goals against	Save percentage	Time on ice	Decision
Number 40 P. Lalime	34	31	3	.912	58:58	Loss

Washington Capitals skaters
Player	Position	Goals	Assists	Points	Plus/minus	Penalty minutes	Shots on goal	Hits	Blocked shots	Faceoff percentage	Time on ice
Number 8 A. Ovechkin	L	1	0	1	+2	2	8	3	0		24:04
Number 10 M. Bradley	R	0	0	0	0	0	2	1	0		12:39
Number 15 B. Gordon	C	1	0	1	0	0	2	0	0	66.7%	12:27
Number 16 E. Fehr	C	0	0	0	0	0	4	1	0		14:20
Number 17 C. Clark	R	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	1		11:53
Number 19 N. Backstrom	C	0	1	1	+2	0	1	1	0	44.4%	21:11
Number 21 B. Laich	C	0	0	0	0	2	1	2	0		16:16
Number 25 V. Kozlov	C	1	0	1	+2	0	5	2	0		19:18
Number 33 A. Giroux	L	0	0	0	0	0	1	4	0		12:55
Number 39 D. Steckel	C	0	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	60%	14:09
Number 87 D. Brashear	L	0	0	0	0	0	0	4	0		11:15
Number 92 M. Nylander	C	0	0	0	0	0	2	0	0	40%	13:59
Number 23 M. Jurcina	D	0	1	1	+1	2	3	2	1		17:08
Number 26 S. Morrisonn	D	0	0	0	0	0	1	1	5		20:40
Number 27 K. Alzner	D	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	4		21:47
Number 43 B. Helmer	D	0	2	2	+2	0	0	0	3		18:58
Number 62 S. Collins	D	0	0	0	-1	0	4	2	1		17:41
Number 89 T. Sloan	D	0	0	0	+2	0	0	0	1		13:59

Washington Capitals goalies
Goalie	Shots against	Saves	Goals against	Save percentage	Time on ice	Decision
Number 60 J. Theodore	24	22	2	.917	60:00	Win

Penalties, Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals
Period	Time	Team	Player	Infraction	Minutes
1st	01:02	Buffalo Sabres	Jaroslav Spacek	Hooking	2
1st	10:24	Buffalo Sabres	Jochen Hecht	High sticking	2
2nd	10:42	Washington Capitals	Milan Jurcina	Hooking	2
2nd	18:47	Buffalo Sabres	Andrej Sekera	Hooking	2
2nd	18:55	Washington Capitals	Brooks Laich	Interference goalkeeper	2
2nd	19:28	Buffalo Sabres	Toni Lydman	Hooking	2
3rd	04:52	Washington Capitals	Alex Ovechkin	Slashing	2

Buffalo Sabres head coach: Lindy Ruff
Washington Capitals head coach: Bruce Boudreau
Referees: Wes McCauley, Paul Devorski
Linesmen: Derek Amell, Tim Nowak
Buffalo Sabres scratches: Craig Rivet, Tim Connolly, Paul Gaustad, Nathan Paetsch, Patrick Kaleta, Mark Mancari, Marc-Andre Gragnani, Nathan Gerbe, Mike Weber
Washington Capitals scratches: Sergei Fedorov, Brent Johnson, Tom Poti, Quintin Laing, John Erskine, Brian Pothier, Keith Aucoin, Graham Mink, Tomas Fleischmann, Alexander Semin, Jeff Schultz, Mike Green, Chris Bourque, Sami Lepisto, Andrew Gordon, Oskar Osala, Jay Beagle, Brett Leonhardt

Every Buffalo Sabres and Washington Capitals game in the 2008-2009 season
Matchup	Status	Details
Washington Capitals 0 at Buffalo Sabres 5	Final	Game page: Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres, Sat, Nov 1, 2008
Buffalo Sabres 2 at Washington Capitals 3	Final	Game page: Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Washington Capitals 4 at Buffalo Sabres 2	Final	Game page: Washington Capitals at Buffalo Sabres, Tue, Dec 30, 2008
Buffalo Sabres 5 at Washington Capitals 4	Final/OT	Game page: Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals, Fri, Apr 3, 2009

Other NHL games on Friday, December 26, 2008
Matchup	Status	Details
Pittsburgh Penguins 1 at New Jersey Devils 0	Final	Game page: Pittsburgh Penguins at New Jersey Devils, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Toronto Maple Leafs 1 at New York Islanders 4	Final	Game page: Toronto Maple Leafs at New York Islanders, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Carolina Hurricanes 5 at Atlanta Thrashers 4	Final	Game page: Carolina Hurricanes at Atlanta Thrashers, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Tampa Bay Lightning 4 at Florida Panthers 3	Final/SO	Game page: Tampa Bay Lightning at Florida Panthers, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Detroit Red Wings 2 at Nashville Predators 3	Final	Game page: Detroit Red Wings at Nashville Predators, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Philadelphia Flyers 1 at Chicago Blackhawks 5	Final	Game page: Philadelphia Flyers at Chicago Blackhawks, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Edmonton Oilers 3 at Vancouver Canucks 2	Final	Game page: Edmonton Oilers at Vancouver Canucks, Fri, Dec 26, 2008
Phoenix Coyotes 2 at Los Angeles Kings 1	Final	Game page: Phoenix Coyotes at Los Angeles Kings, Fri, Dec 26, 2008