At the Horn | Sabres 8 - Capitals 5

Alex Tuch had two goals and an assist as the Buffalo Sabres survived a late push by the Washington Capitals to win 8-5 at Capital One Arena on Sunday.

Tuch has now scored goals in three straight games and has 31 this season, the second-highest total of his career. He has 21 points (15+6) in 22 games since the start of February.

Buffalo’s eight goals matched its season-high, previously reached Feb. 22 against the New York Rangers. Washington, which sits atop the Eastern Conference standings with 103 points, had not allowed more than five goals in a game this season.

Tage Thompson scored a pair of power-play goals, moving into a tie with Tampa Bay’s Brayden Point for third in the NHL with 38 goals this season. Jack Quinn had a goal and two assists for his second consecutive three-point performance.

Ryan McLeod, Sam Lafferty, and Peyton Krebs also added goals. Lafferty returned to the lineup after missing the previous four games with a groin injury.

Rasmus Dahlin returned after missing Saturday’s loss to Philadelphia with an illness and played his 500th NHL game, becoming the third-youngest defenseman in NHL history to hit the milestone. He led the Sabres in ice time at 22:18.

James Reimer won his fourth consecutive start in goal with 24 saves.

The Capitals trailed 6-3 in the third period but applied pressure with late goals from Alex Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois. The Sabres responded with Tuch’s second goal of the night and an empty-net goal from Krebs.

Ovechkin finished the night with three-points, including his 890th career goal to move within four of tying Wayne Gretzky’s NHL record. Jakob Chychrun scored twice for the Capitals while Aliaksei Protas also added a goal. Logan Thompson made 15 saves.

The Sabres, who were coming off a loss in Philadelphia on Saturday afternoon, have won four of their last five games. The stretch started with a win over Winnipeg, the only team ahead of Washington in the NHL standings.

HOW IT HAPPENED

First Period

Following an early save by Reimer to rob a point-blank chance for Tom Wilson, the two teams traded goals midway through the period and carried a 1-1 tie into the break.

Washington struck first when Chychrun snuck into the left circle and buried the rebound off an Ovechkin one-timer to open the scoring with 9:54 remaining in the period.

Buffalo responded following a boarding call against Rasmus Sandin against JJ Peterka, which ignited a scrum involving all 10 players on the ice. Thompson pounced on a rebound off a Peterka shot with Tuch tying up a defender in front.

Second Period

A three-goal period by the Sabres began with McLeod’s goal, scored off a give-and-go with Quinn at 2:14. McLeod accepted the return pass from Quinn as he crossed the offensive blue line, sped past defenseman Matt Roy, and lifted a shot off his forehand.

Chychrun answered with his second goal of the game to knot the score at 2-2 just 32 seconds later, but back-to-back goals from Tuch and Lafferty swung the game in the Sabres’ favor.

Tuch’s goal, a deflection of a Connor Clifton one-timer, put the Sabres in front with 14:43 left in the period. Lafferty drove into the offensive zone and snuck a backhand shot from the slot past Thompson with 8:08 on the clock.

Tyson Kozak drew a double-minor penalty against Dubois with 1:09 remaining, giving the Sabres a four-minute power play that bled into the third period.

Third Period

Protas scored on a shorthanded breakaway 37 seconds into the period, but Thompson answered with his second goal of the night – a one-timer from the left circle – before the end of the power play.

Quinn added the sixth Sabres goal, poking the puck from Chychrun atop the Buffalo zone and roofing his forehand attempt on the breakaway.

Ovechkin deflected a shot by Sandin with 10:49 remaining for his 890th career goal, then fired a one-timer on the power play to set up a deflection for Dubois with 5:57 on the clock, cutting the Sabres’ lead to 6-5.

Tuch deflected a shot from Samuelsson with 4:26 left to play for his second goal of the game, alleviating the Capitals’ pressure. Krebs raced down a loose puck and fended off Chychrun for his empty-net goal with 23 seconds remaining.

PHOTO GALLERY

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

DAHLIN 500

UP NEXT

The road trip concludes Tuesday night in Ottawa. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7.