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Spacek, second-period outburst help Sabres defeat Capitals

Oct 14, 2007 - 4:07 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- Defenseman Jaroslav Spacek scored two goals, including the first of four in a five-minute span, as the Buffalo Sabres posted a 7-3 victory over the Washington Capitals on Saturday.

Fellow blue-liner Brian Campbell netted a goal and set up three others for the Sabres, who have scored 13 tallies in their last two games - both wins - after notching just six in their first two losses.

Trailing, 1-0, in the second period, Spacek began the outburst for Buffalo when he one-timed a 35-foot shot between the pads of goaltender Brent Johnson during a power play with 5:09 left in the period.

"We had a couple good chances in the first period, (but) the Caps scored on us," Spacek said. "We knew they played back-to-back games. We just stuck with the game plan. After their first score, we kind of snowballed and scored four. It was good."

It was Spacek's third goal in four games this season.

Just 11 seconds later, Maxim Afinogenov converted a pass from Thomas Vanek on the doorstep to give the Sabres their first lead of the game.

Jason Pominville and Adam Mair also tallied before the period was over for Buffalo, which outshot Washington, 37-9, through two sessions.

"We were pretty confident that if we kept creating that kind of pressure, we were going to get one by Johnson," Mair said. "It's was just a matter of holding the Capitals to limited chances and keeping it a one-goal game. We got a good power-play (goal) from Spacek to set things off, then were off and running."

After Capitals defenseman Mike Green cut the deficit to 4-2 on a breakaway with 12:31 left in third, Campbell answered with his second goal of the season two minutes later to restore the Sabres' three-goal advantage.

"We didn't like their first goal," Campbell said. "We were pretty calm coming into the second (period). We knew we had a power play going in. We just kept rolling, found a way. Every line was chipping in tonight."

Alex Ovechkin buried a shot from the low slot during a man advantage with 8:41 left to get the Capitals within 5-3. But Derek Roy tallied 50 seconds later and Spacek netted another with 3 1/2 minutes remaining for the final margin.

Ryan Miller made 23 saves for Buffalo, which has won six straight here against Washington.

Johnson stopped 46 shots and Michael Nylander had a goal and an assist for the Capitals, who have dropped two straight after opening the season with three victories.

"We're going to do things better, not differently," Capitals coach Glen Hanlon said. "We were successful after (three) games, and now we're sitting here after five games at 3-2-0. We've played four on the road. It's not good enough, but we're not going to blow up the dam."