Dylan Cozens achieved his first career NHL hat trick as the Buffalo Sabres beat the Washington Capitals 7-4 Sunday afternoon at the KeyBank Centre in Buffalo.
Cozens was the 1st man on the scoring book at 10:20 of the 1st period. It was his 21st tally of the season. A few minutes later, Washington tied it at 1 apiece from Dylan Strome (13) at 14:45. Buffalo made it 2-1 with Tage Thompson's 40th of the season at 16:35. However, Washington tied it again with T.J. Oshie (15) at 16:50 for the final goal of the 1st period.
Buffalo caught fire in the 2nd period with 4 unanswered goals by Jeff Skinner (25, 5:49), Zemgus Girgensons (8, 8:36), Vinnie Hinistroza (1, 10:07), and Cozens' 2nd of the game (22, 12:49), totaling a 6-2 Sabres lead. Washington got a pair of goals from Alex Ovechkin (33, 15:49) and Sonny Milano on the power play (10, 18:40) for a 6-4 Sabres lead at the end of period 2.
Only 1 goal was scored in the 3rd period, and as fate would have it, it was Cozens' hat goal at 11:52 for his 23rd of the season.
Buffalo outshot Washington 37-30 and won 33 face offs to the Caps' 24. They also had 11 penalty minutes to Washington's 13 and only 5 hits compared to 17 by the Capitals.
Buffalo improves to 31-23-4 and 4th in the Atlantic Division with their 3rd straight win today. They next play the Blue Jackets on the 28th at 7:30 pm. Washington drops to 29-27-6 and sits 6th in the Metro Division. Their next contest is a trip to Anaheim to face the Ducks on March 1, with puck drop scheduled for 10 pm.
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