"There are garbage goals and there are superstar goals. Thomas Vanek had one of each Saturday night. He was more than satisfied by the first one but left everybody in HSBC Arena heading out into the night talking about the second one.

Finally, the player who is supposed to be the Buffalo Sabres' top offensive weapon is heating up. Vanek snapped a seven-game drought with two goals, including the roll-the-highlight-film special in overtime that beat the Washington Capitals, 3-2.

After initially losing the puck just inside the Washington line, Vanek regained control and wheeled with it at center ice. He had a full head of steam against the flat-footed Capitals defense with plenty of room to work with as two Washington players were foolishly heading to the bench.

Vanek went inside on John Carlson to the defenseman's right, then around the pokecheck of goaltender Brandon Holtby and had an easy backhander into an open net for his sixth of the season.

"Anytime you can contribute and help the team win, it's great," Vanek said. "I lost the puck and came out of [the Caps'] zone and picked up good speed when I got it back. Two of their guys changed so I just kind of took a stab at it and went in.""