Capitals score 3 in 1st, defeat Sabres to gain in Eastern wild-card race

WASHINGTON -- Logan Thompson made 37 saves for the Washington Capitals, who gained ground in the Eastern Conference wild-card race with a 6-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Jakob Chychrun, Aliaksei Protas and Connor McMichael each had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (39-29-9), who have won four of five. Alex Ovechkin and Pierre-Luc Dubois each had two assists.

Washington moved one point behind the Ottawa Senators, who are in a four-way tie in points for the second wild card in the East with the Detroit Red Wings, Columbus Blue Jackets and Philadelphia Flyers.

“We can only control what we do out there for 60 minutes and we’re just trying to do everything we can to stay alive and get ourselves in,” Capitals forward Ryan Leonard said.

Rasmus Dahlin had a goal and an assist for the Sabres (46-23-8), who are 2-3-2 in their past seven.

Alex Lyon allowed three goals on five shots before he was replaced at 5:52 of the first period by Colten Ellis, who made 20 saves in relief.

Buffalo remained two points behind the Tampa Bay Lightning for first in the Atlantic Division, and tied with the Montreal Canadiens, who have played one less game.

“I think it's just we got to look ourselves in the mirror,” Dahlin said. “No one is playing their best hockey right now. So, we have a big day Monday [at the Lightning]. Get ready for the next one because we have to build our game going into the playoffs, that's for sure.”

Despite the loss, the Sabres qualified for the playoffs for the first time since 2011 when the Detroit Red Wings lost 4-1 at the New York Rangers earlier in the day, ending the longest drought in NHL history.

“It's really hard to really focus on that right now with a loss, but really proud of the group,” Buffalo forward Alex Tuch said. “It's been a long time coming. It's my fifth year here, and pretty happy this afternoon.”

The Capitals scored three goals in a 2:37 span in the opening period.

Chychrun put Washington up 1-0 at 3:15, pouncing on the rebound of an Ovechkin shot in the left face-off circle and snapping the puck past a screened Lyon to the blocker side.

Strome made it 2-0 just 20 seconds later at 3:35. Ovechkin sent a backhand pass to the front of the net and Protas fed the puck across the crease to Strome, who tapped it into an open net.

“We can’t defend as poorly as we did those first couple of goals,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We left two guys wide open, the coverage wasn’t good and it ends up in the back of the net.”

McMichael extended the lead to 3-0 at 5:52. Chychrun's initial wrist shot from the high slot bounced off the end boards in front to McMichael, who buried a snap shot at the right post to chase Lyon from the game.

“Our start was phenomenal,” Capitals coach Spencer Carbery said. “First eight minutes maybe. Just really good with our execution. Make a couple of really good plays. Got into the offensive zone. Turned a few pucks over on the forecheck. Had a ton of jump early in that game.”

Dahlin cut the deficit to 3-1 just 38 seconds later at 6:30 with a wrist shot from the slot over Thompson's blocker.

Beck Malenstyn brought Buffalo to within 3-2 at 12:15. Dahlin's shot from the right point deflected off Jordan Greenway in front, and Malenstyn gathered the puck and lifted it over the glove of a sprawling Thompson.

Protas, who returned after missing two games because of an upper-body injury, made it 4-2 while the teams skated 4-on-4. He snuck a snap shot under Ellis' blocker from the right circle at 6:06 of the second period. 

“I thought the ‘Pro’ goal is probably the biggest goal we get in the hockey game,” Carbery said. “They get a 2-on-1 down at our end and [Cole Hutson] makes a pretty good play to break that pass up. And we go down and convert.”

The Sabres had a 5-on-3 power play for 36 seconds midway through the period but were unable to convert. Buffalo finished 0-for-5 on the power play.

“Our power play has got to be better, 5-on-5 has to be better, our whole game has to be better,” Sabres forward Tage Thompson said. “But the power play there was an opportunity to maybe claw our way back into the game a little. I just thought that we were frustrated and when you’re frustrated, you don't make the right plays and you start to force things.”

Leonard pushed the lead to 5-2 at 6:26 of the third period, taking a drop pass from Hutson, then burying a wrist shot from just outside the left circle to the blocker side.

Tom Wilson scored a short-handed goal at 8:55 for a 6-2 advantage when he took a pass from McMichael as he drove the net and slid the puck under the right pad of Ellis after a forehand-backhand deke.

“We’ve been saying all along, just focus on what we can control,” Strome said. “We’ve got to keep stacking wins together. Four of our last five now. We’re putting ourselves in a good spot.”

NOTES: Chychrun surpassed Kevin Hatcher (24 in 1990-91) and moved into a tie with Al Iafrate (25 in 1992-93) for the fourth-most goals by a Capitals defenseman in a single season. ... Ovechkin (1,031) passed Joe Sakic (1,829) for sole possession of ninth place on the NHL’s all-time points list -- regular-season and Stanley Cup Playoffs combined -- with two assists. … Dubois has eight points (one goal, seven assists) in his past three games. ... Leonard has five points (two goals, three assists) in a four-game streak. ... Washington forward Ethen Frank was minus-1 in 9:34 of ice time in his return after missing three games because of a lower-body injury and two as a healthy scratch. ... Dahlin (582 games) recorded his 100th career multipoint game and became the seventh Swedish-born defenseman in NHL history to reach the mark. The only two others to hit the milestone faster are Borje Salming (492 games) and Erik Karlsson (505 games).