Washington Capitals center Mathieu Perreault (85) is mobbed by his teammates after scoring late in the 3rd period putting the Caps ahead 5 - 3 versus the Buffalo Sabres

Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) prepares to make a save on Buffalo Sabres left wing Tyler Ennis (63) in the 2nd period. The Caps defeated the Sabres 5 - 3 at the Verizon Center

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) celebartes the first goal of the game at :19 putting the Caps ahead for good. The Caps defeated the Sabres 5 - 3 at the Verizon Center

Washington Capitals center Matt Hendricks (26) gets between Washington Capitals defenseman Tom Poti (3) and Buffalo Sabres center Steve Ott (9) in the 2nd period. Ott was involved in series of scuffles and was eventually given a 10 minute misconduct penalty in the 3rd period

Washington Capitals goalie Braden Holtby (70) warms up prior to the Caps vs Buffalo Sabres game on St. Patricks Day March 17, 2013

Washington Capitals left wing Alex Ovechkin (8) and the Caps give the Verizon Center crowd a stick salute following the Caps 5 - 3 victory over the Sabres

The Capitals auctioned off autographed St. Patricks day warm up jerseys

Caps goalie Braden Holtby rests during a break in play during the Caps 5 - 3 victory over the Sabres

Washington Capitals left wing Jason Chimera (25) is congratulated at the bench after scoring his first goal of the season

Buffalo Sabres goalie Ryan Miller (30) let up 5 goals to the Washington Capitals as the Caps beat the Sabres 5 - 3