Capitals’ Bondra Makes Sure There Are No Creases in Victory
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BUFFALO, N.Y. — Peter Bondra didn’t have to worry about being in the goal crease this time.
Bondra scored on a 30-foot slap shot 9:37 into overtime to lift the Washington Capitals to a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night in Game 3 of the Eastern Conference finals.
“No, nobody was in the crease,” Bondra said with a smile.
Bondra scored a controversial goal in Washington’s 3-2 overtime victory in Game 2 that should not have counted because he had his skate in the crease before deflecting the puck over Dominik Hasek.
This time, he grabbed the puck near center ice and beat Hasek with a hard shot that bounced off the goaltender’s glove and into the net, giving the Capitals a 2-1 lead in the best-of-seven series.
“I heard the guys screaming from the bench, ‘Just rip it. Shoot it,’ ” Bondra said. “It felt good on my stick. I just got a little lucky and it went in.”
Richard Zednik scored two goals and had one assist for the Capitals, who have never been in the Stanley Cup finals in their 24-year history. Bondra opened the scoring in the first period, and he also had an assist.
Donald Audette had one goal and an assist for the Sabres. Matthew Barnaby and Brian Holzinger had the other Buffalo goals. It was the Sabres’ first playoff loss at home this year and marked the first time they have trailed in the playoffs.
“We came into Buffalo knowing these guys haven’t lost at home,” Capital goaltender Olaf Kolzig said. “We beat them on their own turf. We got our home-ice [advantage] back, but we’re not going to be happy with a split.”
The Sabres have been to the Cup finals once, losing to the Philadelphia Flyers in 1975.
The only other time they were this close was 1980, when they lost to the New York Islanders in the conference finals.
Bondra had 52 goals during the regular season, and he has five in the playoffs. He has scored 10 goals in 15 playoff games against Hasek, who gave up four goals on 30 shots.
The Sabres were shaky early before scoring three goals to take a 3-2 lead in the second period before Zednik tied the score with his second power-play goal, setting up a scoreless third period.
NHL Note
Sabre winger Miroslav Satan escaped suspension, but was fined $1,000 for high-sticking Washington enforcer Chris Simon in the face in Game 2 of the Eastern Conference finals.
