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Caps edge Sabres on Johansson's goal

Feb 21, 2011 - 12:22 AM Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - Marcus Johansson's power-play goal midway through the third period lifted the Washington Capitals to a 2-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres at HSBC Arena.

Mathieu Perreault had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who had lost four of five coming into the game. Semyon Varlamov stopped 28 shots in the win.

"You can get frustrated sometimes on the power play, especially when you're not scoring," said Washington head coach Bruce Boudreau. "We had to persevere if we were going to succeed. You need some luck, too, but if you put enough pucks on the net you're going to score."

Jason Pominville had the lone goal, while Ryan Miller made 37 stops for the Sabres, who have dropped their past three games.

"When you take too many penalties you're going to lose," said Buffalo head coach Lindy Ruff. "They didn't have much going on 5-on-5 and we put ourselves in a tough position." With the score tied in the third, the Capitals were awarded a power play when Shaone Morrisonn was called for interference 9:15 in.

Perreault skated the puck into the Buffalo end through the middle and from the right circle threw a shot on net. Miller made the stop, but the rebound kicked out to the left and Johansson wristed it home with 9:40 to play.

Varlamov stopped 11 shots in the final frame to preserve the win.

The Caps struck 6:09 into the second period thanks to a fortuitous bounce. Matt Hendricks threw the puck into the Buffalo end down the right wing and it bounced off the back boards. The disc then came out front where Perreault slammed it in before Miller was able to get into position.

Buffalo tied the game less than three minutes later on the power play as Pominville's slap shot from the slot beat Varlamov cleanly for his 14th goal of the season.

Game Notes

Buffalo continues its six-game homestand against Atlanta on Wednesday...Washington wraps up its five-game road swing on Monday in Pittsburgh...Washington has taken two of the three games with Buffalo this season. The final meeting between these two clubs will be on April 2 in Washington...Washington was 1-for-5 on the power play, while Buffalo was 1- for-2.