At the Horn | Sabres 6 - Capitals 2

JJ Peterka scored two goals as part of a three-point performance to ignite the Buffalo Sabres to a 6-2 victory over the Washington Capitals inside KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

The win pulled the Sabres within five points of the Capitals, who currently hold the second wild card in the Eastern Conference. The two teams meet again in Buffalo on April 11.

The Sabres fell behind less than three minutes into the contest but tied the score on a goal from Zemgus Girgensons and pulled ahead on consecutive goals from Peterka, the second of which came at the 10:54 mark of the second period and stood as the game winner.

Rasmus Dahlin, Tage Thompson, and Alex Tuch added goals in a span of 2:30 during the period. Dahlin and Tuch had two assists each for their own three-point outings.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves for the victory. Charlie Lindgren allowed six goals on 31 shots for the Capitals before being replaced by Darcy Kuemper, who stopped four shots in 14:19.

The Sabres honored Jeff Skinner with a pregame ceremony and throughout the night for playing his 1,000th NHL game. Skinner became the 47th active player to reach the milestone.

SCORING SUMMARY

Period 1, 2:46 – Martin Fehervary from Michael Sgarbossa and Hendrix Lapierre (1-0, WSH)

Fehervary caught the puck as the trailing man over the blue line and buried a slap shot from above the left faceoff circle to put the Capitals on the board less than three minutes into the contest.

Period 1, 15:42 – Zemgus Girgensons from Rasmus Dahlin and Owen Power (1-1)

The Sabres went on to outshoot the Capitals 13-4 during the first period despite falling behind early and tied the score when Girgensons deflected a shot from Rasmus Dahlin for his eighth goal of the season.

Period 1, 16:50 (PP) – JJ Peterka from Alex Tuch and Zach Benson (2-1, BUF)

Victor Olofsson drew the game’s first penalty just 18 seconds after Girgensons’ goal, setting the stage for Peterka to put the Sabres ahead on the power play.

Benson sent a pass across the blue paint, skipping over Tuch’s stick but finding Peterka along the goal line.

Period 2, 10:54 – JJ Peterka from Alex Tuch (3-1, BUF)

Peterka’s second goal extended the Sabres’ lead and stood as the winner.

Peterka initiated the sequence down low on the forecheck, after which Tuch hounded Nicolas Aube-Kubel to force a turnover in the offensive zone. The puck found its way back to Peterka, who deked to his forehand and beat Lindgren to his glove side.

Period 2, 19:14 (PP) – Dylan Strome from John Carlson and Alex Ovechkin (3-2, BUF)

The Capitals inched closer on their first power play of the night, a Strome put-back following a shot from the point by Carlson.

Period 3, 3:03 (PP) – Rasmus Dahlin from JJ Peterka and Tage Thompson (4-2, BUF)

Washington threatened to tie the score with an early power play, but Dahlin drew a penalty 1:08 later to briefly even play and then earn a man advantage of their own.

Dahlin scored his 18th goal of the season with a one-timer from the point on the ensuing power play.

Period 3, 4:48 – Tage Thompson from Jack Quinn and Zach Benson (5-2, BUF)

Quinn passed across to Thompson, who buried a hard shot from point-blank range to extend the Sabres’ lead.

Period 3, 4:48 – Tage Thompson from Jack Quinn and Zach Benson (5-2, BUF)

Benson and Quinn combined to win the puck on the forecheck before Quinn passed across to Thompson, who buried a hard shot from point-blank range to extend the Sabres’ lead.

Period 3, 5:33 – Alex Tuch from Tage Thompson and Rasmus Dahlin (6-2, BUF)

Thompson seamed a pass through the middle to Tuch, who scored from the left side of the net for his third point of the game.

HIGHLIGHTS

VICTORY SPEECH

POSTGAME COMMENTS

SKINNER 1,000 CONTENT

PHOTO GALLERIES

UP NEXT

The homestand concludes Friday against the Philadelphia Flyers. Pregame coverage on MSG/MSG+ begins at 6:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 7. Radio coverage can be found on WGR 550.