BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — On a night when the Sabres celebrated Jeff Skinner skating in his 1,000th NHL game, it was the winger who supplanted him on Buffalo’s top line who pointed the way to victory.
JJ Peterka scored twice to take the team lead with 28 goals on the season, with an assist on Tage Thompson’s 27th, as Buffalo (36-35-5) staved off playoff elimination for a few more days with a 6-2 win against the Washington Capitals (36-28-10), the club currently clinging to the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference.
Rasmus Dahlin added a goal and and two assists, a tally matched by Alex Tuch and Thompson, while Zemgus Girgensons also scored, and Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves for the Sabres in their final game this season wearing retro “goat head” sweaters.
Buffalo closes its five-game homestand Friday night against the Philadelphia Flyers.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.