At the Horn | Capitals 4 - Sabres 2

The Buffalo Sabres fell to the Washington Capitals 4-2 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

Another closely contested game extended Buffalo’s winless streak to nine (0-6-3).

Jason Zucker scored his eighth goal of the season and Jiri Kulich his fourth for the Sabres. Tage Thompson picked up an assist and now has six points in his last six games.

For the Capitals, Tom Wilson scored two power-play goals and Dylan Strome recorded the third-period game winner. Defenseman Jacob Chychrun added a late empty netter and John Carlson tallied three assists.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 27 saves on 30 shots, while Washington’s Logan Thompson stopped 19 of 21.

The Sabres were once again without captain Rasmus Dahlin who missed his fifth straight game since leaving the Dec. 3 game early due to back spasms.

Here’s more from the loss.

First Period

Continuing the Sabres’ recent trend of early goals, Zucker gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead just 1:36 into the game. Ryan McLeod’s pass from the right circle found Jordan Greenway in front, then deflected off Zucker before leaking through Thompson.

Washington nearly tied it 14 minutes into the period, when Strome found Connor McMichael back-door with a centering pass on the rush. McMichael had an open net but pushed the puck back across the crease.

The Capitals did get on the board soon after. At 17:09, with Owen Power off for tripping, Wilson set up in the slot and redirected Carlson’s feed past Luukkonen.

Washington outshot Buffalo 12-6 in the first and held a 10-4 advantage in scoring chances, according to Natural Stat Trick.

Second Period

Buffalo’s second line of Zach Benson, Kulich and Dylan Cozens had a shift of extended offensive-zone time early in the period, but it ended with a tripping call on Benson.

Wilson scored his second power-play goal of the night on the ensuing man advantage after Chychrun’s shot created a rebound opportunity.

The physical period saw multiple post-whistle skirmishes, including one leading to a fight between Cozens and Martin Fehervary; the Washington defenseman had made contact with Ryan Johnson in front of Luukkonen’s net.

A newly formed line of Benson, Kulich and Thompson paid off at 7:24, when Kulich redirected a Bowen Byram one-timer and tied the game at two.

Halfway through the period, a strech pass from Power sprung Alex Tuch on a breakaway but Thompson made the stop.

The Sabres got their first power-play opportunity when Brandon Duhaime boarded Beck Malenstyn, but a Byram interference penalty cut the man advantage short after about a minute. Buffalo killed off its short-handed minute.

Luukkonen denied a 2-on-1 rush and multiple follow-up chances to maintain the 2-2 tie late in the second.

Third Period

The teams traded scoring chances for much of the period until Strome gave Washington a 3-2 lead at 11:05. Carlson made a well-placed pass into the slot, where Strome tipped a bouncing puck past Luukkonen.

Luukkonen denied an open Strome in front of the net a couple minutes later.

Buffalo pulled Luukkonen with more than two minutes remaining, but Chychrun’s empty net goal at 18:30 secured the Washington victory.

GAME HIGHLIGHTS

POSTGAME SOUND

UP NEXT

The Sabres continue their three-game roadtrip with a Sunday evening matchup against the Toronto Maple Leafs.

Coverage on MSG begins at 4:30 p.m. with puck drop scheduled for 5.