Tuch, Capitals get last laugh in overtime against Sabres

Washington, D.C. (WGR) - The Buffalo Sabres' road trip started off with a mixed bag on Saturday night. Visiting the Washington Capitals, the blue and gold were defeated in overtime by a final score of 4-3 at Capital One Arena.

The Sabres made a statement in the early goings of the first period. The blue and gold built a two-goal lead by the halfway point of the opening 20-minutes, fueled by a pair of shots from Jack Quinn and Josh Doan.

It was Quinn's team-leading sixth goal of the season, as he showed off some finesse in making it 1-0 Buffalo.

Then came Doan, just over four-minutes later. Konsta Helenius and Ryan McLeod applied pressure to Capitals defenseman Jakob Chychrun, and forced a turnover. McLeod then located Doan in front for a 2-0 Sabres edge.

Washington answered back, sort of, before the end of the first period. Former Sabres forward Alex Tuch tried to center a pass from the right corner. While attempting to defend the pass lane, Tage Thompson deflected the puck in behind Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to get the Capitals off and running.

The home side pulled even just three-minutes into the second period. With the Capitals buzzing at the end of an early powerplay, the Sabres gambled and upped their pressure at the blue line in their own end. Unfortunately, it came back to bite them as it left forward Dylan Strome alone in front of Luukkonen. Linemate Jordan Kyrou was able to float a shot towards the front of the net, and Strome backhanded it in to tie things at Capital One Arena.

Strome wasn't done, either. With 2:36 left in the middle stanza, he was again lost in coverage. Forward Justin Sourdif located Strome by the blue paint with a centering pass from behind the net, and Strome banged home his second goal of the evening to give the Capitals a 3-2 lead; their first of the night.

The Sabres answered quickly into the third, though, and put an end to Washington's run of goal-scoring. The blue and gold got some puck luck of their own to, essentially, cancel out Tuch's own goal from the first period. A mad scramble in front of Capitals goalie Charlie Lindgren ended with an own goal off Washington defenseman Matt Roy. The game-tying goal slid in off Roy's skate, and was credit to Noah Ostlund.

Ostlund's tally was the last of its kind in regulation, as the teams prepared for some overtime in the District of Columbia on a Saturday night.

And in that overtime, it was Tuch who played hero for his new employer. Strome, from below the goal line, found Tuch in the slot and he wired a game-winning snap-shot past Luukkonen. Washington snagged the extra point by way of this 4-3 victory.

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SCORING RECAP:

First Period:

BUF: 6:27 - Jack Quinn (6) (Olen Zellweger, Zach Benson); 10:36 - Josh Doan (2) (Ryan McLeod)
WSH: 16:10 - Alex Tuch (6) (Jordan Kyrou)

Second Period:

BUF: NONE
WSH: 2:59 - Dylan Strome (2) (Jordan Kyrou, Jakob Chychrun); 17:24 - Dylan Strome (3) (Justin Sourdif, Martin Fehervary)

Third Period:

BUF: 2:20 - Noah Ostlund (3) (Owen Power, Rasmus Dahlin)
WSH: NONE

Overtime:

BUF: NONE
WSH: 3:42 - Alex Tuch (7) (Dylan Strome, Jakob Chychrun)

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STATS OF THE GAME

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Bluestar Home Services Three Stars of the Game:

1.) Alex Tuch - WSH
2.) Dylan Strome - WSH
3.) Jordan Kyrou - WSH

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What's Next:

The road trip rolls into San Jose, California on Tuesday night, October 27. Puck drop at SAP Center is set for 10:30 p.m. ET with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call here on WGR Sports Radio 550.