In Washington, DC, Tage Thompson finished his hat trick effort on Tuesday night in extra time to give the Buffalo lo Sabres a 5-4 win over the Capitals.
The winner came off an errant pass collected by Alex Tuch below the goal line.
“I think [we] were trying to make a safer play, instead of getting checked into the corner just throwing it out to the middle of the ice,” Washington coach Peter Laviolette said. “I think [we] were trying to go back one more time and [Tuch], he read it pretty good just keeping the stick in position. Things bumble around in two seconds, and it ended up in Thompson’s stick six feet outside the crease.”
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 28 saves in the win.
Alex Ovechkin scored a pair of goals for the Caps.
“Obviously he’s big, strong,” Ovechkin said of Thompson. “Good puck mover, you know? Has great shot.”
Alex Tuch and Tyson Jost also scored for the Sabres.
The Sabres’ general manager, Kevyn Adams, was the only team representative to speak to the press after the game. The organization had decided to refrain from press comments in respect for Damar Hamlin of the Buffalo Bills of the NHL.
“I just want to say that our thoughts and our hearts and prayers are with Damar and his family, the entire Bills organization,” Adams said. “You know what happened last night is something that makes the game itself and any sport secondary.”
The Caps dropped to 21-13-6.
“Inconsistent game for us and something that we’ve been doing a good job of I think is playing consistently, consistently hard, good defensively,” Washington forward T.J. Oshie said. “Tonight, just a little too inconsistent against a team that can make you pay for playing like that.”
Nic Dowd and Sonny Milano had single markers for the Caps.
Darcy Kuemper made 24 saves in the loss.
“It’s hard to say much about the game, to be honest,” Adams said. “What I can tell you, though, is we talked as a group this morning. We have such good people in our locker room, players, coaches, staff, and it wasn’t feeling right this morning. It didn’t feel like a normal game day, so we talked about it as a group. I told them, to be honest, how proud I am of them and what they’ve done in this community through a lot of tough times.”
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