NHL

Buffalo Sabres at Washington Capitals

· National Hockey League
Final
3 - 4

Alex Tuch gets winner against former team and Dylan Strome scores twice, as Capitals beat Sabres 4-3

Alex Tuch wins it in OT for the Capitals

Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals.

Tuch opened the scoring for Washington when a pass bounced off Tage Thompson’s stick and into his own net. Dylan Strome scored 2:59 into the second period, then once more with 2:36 left in the period.

Tuch was acquired this summer by the Capitals from the Sabres via sign-and-trade. He signed an eight-year, $84 million deal to help bolster the Capitals' offense.

Jack Quinn and Josh Doan scored early for Buffalo to put the visitors up by two. The Capitals’ offense found its footing, though, and turned up the pressure on the Sabres’ defense to gain the lead in the second period, only to have Noah Ostlund tie it once again 2:20 into the third period. The game remained tied through the remainder of the third period, despite multiple power play opportunities and scoring chances for both teams.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves for the Sabres.

The Capitals were coming off a loss to the previously winless Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. And, after a three-day break which allowed them to get both Pierre Luc-Dubois and Justin Sourdif back into the forward lines, the looked far more complete against the Sabres.

Buffalo has now lost three games in a row and has just three points in its last five games.

Up next Sabres: At the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday

Capitals: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.

See AP’s full NHL coverage here

Regular Season Series

WSH leads series 1-0

Scoring Summary

Goal 1st Period 6:27 Jack Quinn Goal (6) Wrist Shot, assists: Olen Zellweger (2), Zach Benson (7)
Goal 1st Period 10:36 Josh Doan Goal (2) Snap Shot, assists: Ryan McLeod (2)
Goal 1st Period 16:10 Alex Tuch Goal (6) Backhand, assists: Jordan Kyrou (5)
Goal 2nd Period 2:59 Dylan Strome Goal (2) Backhand, assists: Jordan Kyrou (6), Jakob Chychrun (5)
Goal 2nd Period 17:24 Dylan Strome Goal (3) Snap Shot, assists: Justin Sourdif (1), Martin Fehervary (2)
Goal 3rd Period 2:20 Noah Ostlund Goal (3) Wrist Shot, assists: Owen Power (7), Rasmus Dahlin (3)
Goal 4th Period 3:42 Alex Tuch Goal (7) Snap Shot, assists: Dylan Strome (6), Jakob Chychrun (6)

Statistics

https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/buf.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originBUF https://a.espncdn.com/combiner/i?img=/i/teamlogos/nhl/500/wsh.png&h=100&scale=crop&w=100&location=originWSH
9 Blocked Shots 21
15 Hits 26
8 Takeaways 5
21 Shots 34
0 Power Play Goals 0
2 Power Play Opportunities 3
0.0 Power Play Percentage 0.0
0 Short Handed Goals 0
0 Shootout Goals 0
30 Faceoffs Won 23
56.6 Faceoff Win Percent 43.4
24 Giveaways 15
3 Total Penalties 2
6 Penalty Minutes 4
Washington Capitals Washington Capitals Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Logan Thompson, G Injured Reserve Oct 26
Vincent Desharnais, D Injured Reserve Oct 23
Rasmus Sandin, D Injured Reserve Oct 12
Patrick Thomas, C Injured Reserve Sep 29
Buffalo Sabres Buffalo Sabres Injuries
NAME, POS STATUS DATE
Jiri Kulich, C Out Oct 26
Justin Danforth, RW Day-To-Day Oct 25
Sam Carrick, C Injured Reserve Oct 21
Alex Lyon, G Injured Reserve Oct 15
Matt Grzelcyk, D Injured Reserve Oct 13

Game Information

Capital One Arena

Location: Washington, DC
Attendance: 18,347 | Capacity:

2026-27 Atlantic Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Boston 1 2 19 9
Ottawa 0 4 16 8
Toronto 2 5 16 7
Tampa Bay 1 3 15 7
Montreal 2 3 14 6
Florida 2 4 14 6
Detroit 3 4 13 5
Buffalo 3 4 11 4

2026-27 Metropolitan Division Standings

TEAM W L PTS OTL
Carolina 2 2 20 9
NY Rangers 1 6 15 7
New Jersey 0 4 14 7
Washington 0 4 12 6
NY Islanders 2 4 12 5
Pittsburgh 1 6 11 5
Philadelphia 3 7 9 3
Columbus 0 5 8 4
Full Standings