Capitals fall to Sabres, lose hold of wild card spot

BUFFALO -- The Washington Capitals lost their hold on a wild card spot with a 4-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center on Thursday.

The Pittsburgh Penguins moved one point ahead of the Capitals for the second wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference with a 6-5 overtime victory against the Detroit Red Wings on Thursday. Washington has three games remaining.

“Anytime you lose at this time of the year, it's an opportunity missed,” Capitals forward Connor McMichael said. “And this one doesn't feel good, for sure, but there's nothing we can do now. It's on to the next one and we got to keep winning.”

McMichael and Tom Wilson scored, and John Carlson had two assists for the Capitals (37-31-11), who have lost seven of their past eight games (1-5-2). Charlie Lindgren made 13 saves.

“It's been a really fun year. It's been a really good year,” Lindgren said. “But to me, if we come up short, it doesn't mean as much. So, three games left, go back on home ice here our next game. I liked our resolve. I like that we didn't give up tonight, scoring the late one and then fisticuffs there at the end. But, yeah, let's go home and get back to work.”

Alex Tuch and Zach Benson scored, and Jordan Greenway and Henri Jokiharju each had two assists for the Sabres (38-37-5), who had lost two in a row and were eliminated from playoff contention on Tuesday. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves.

“I thought we came in with a game plan,” Tuch said. “I think we probably could’ve gotten a few more pucks to the net, I think we were a little low on shots there, but we were able to score when it counted.”

Benson gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead at 19:00 of the first period when he tipped Jeff Skinner’s shot in the low slot. It was the 18-year-old’s 10th goal of the season.

“A guy gets into double digits, and you factor in his age and in no way, shape, or form did we think he would be on our roster before training camp started when we drafted him last June,” Sabres coach Don Granato said. “You just don’t think a kid that age can do it. But he has been impressive from Day One of training camp, and that was a big goal tonight, a real big goal in an area that’s a gritty, tough area, the front of the net. … He’s proven that he’s belonged here this year.”

Tuch extended it to 2-0 at 12:37 of the second period after taking a backhand pass from Jokiharju above the slot and scoring on a wrist shot.

McMichael cut it to 2-1 at 14:36, directing a backhand pass from Max Pacioretty in front past Luukkonen’s blocker.

Jack Quinn made it 3-1 at 9:46 of the third period by scoring glove side from the high slot.

Dylan Cozens extended it to 4-1 at 17:43 with an empty-net goal.

Wilson tipped Carlson’s shot with Lindgren pulled for the extra attacker at 19:00 for the 4-2 final.

“This has been the way our team has gone all year,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “And if we get a couple goals there, and now we'll protect our lead. If we don't and we trail, now it becomes a challenge. And that's what you saw tonight.

“And there was a few, like you saw some of the young mistakes from our group in this situation where some nerves come in. … This time of year, that just can't happen. You have to be able to execute a simple chip out off the wall. … But for the most part, I thought there was enough positivity to win the game. We just weren't able to finish and were trailing in that game.”

NOTES: Washington forward Alex Ovechkin had an assist on Wilson’s goal, giving him 697 in his career to pass Sergei Fedorov for the second-most by a Russian-born player in NHL history. … Carlson reached 50 points in a season for the sixth time in his career, moving him past Scott Stevens for the most 50-point seasons by a defenseman in Capitals history. … Benson is the third Sabres player to score at least 10 goals in a season at the age of 18, joining Phil Housley (17 in 1982-83) and Pierre Turgeon (14 in 1987-88).