Viktor Olofsson scored two goals for Buffalo away against Philadelphia in NHL ice hockey tonight. However, it wasn’t enough and the home side won 5-2 after a hat-trick from Owen Tippett.
Washington’s playoff chances look increasingly remote after losing 5-2 to St. Louis.
Philadelphia started strong. Swede Viktor Olofsson pulled it back, but visiting Buffalo didn’t stand a real chance.
– We were 4-0 down (going into the third period) and this was a game we had to win so we had nothing to lose at that point. So we put more pressure on them, says Olofsson around the third period when the team managed to pull itself up and got two pucks.
lack of self confidence
Olofsson says there was a lack of self-confidence in the first two periods.
Buffalo coach Don Granato shares the same line:
– I didn’t get to know most of the guys tonight. They were not themselves. I think there were a few – you can count them on the fingers of one hand – that looked fresh and refreshed tonight.
– That was what was crucial. Many of the men looked completely exhausted, Granato says.
He points out that the team is in a position where every point counts and that they now have to make sure they learn from their setbacks.
Philadelphia’s Owen Tippett scored three of the team’s five goals, thus earning the first hat-trick in his NHL career.
win or disappear
St. Louis-Washington also finished 5-2. Niklas Backstrom scored one of Washington’s two goals.
Washington, whose chance at a Stanley Cup berth after a loss may be about to slip from the team’s hands, has only managed to pick up two points a few times in the past month.
– It’s win or lose, so you have to go out in every game and fight for those two points, says Niklas Backström after tonight’s loss.
There are five points over the Pittsburgh and New York Islanders, who are currently the best wild card in the Eastern Conference, with twelve games remaining in the regular season.