Wilson scores twice for Capitals in win against Sabres

WASHINGTON -- Dylan Strome scored the go-ahead goal at 11:05 of the third period, and the Washington Capitals extended their point streak to nine games with a 4-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Capital One Arena on Saturday.

Strome redirected John Carlson’s pass by Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen from the slot for his 10th goal of the season. Jakob Chychrun then scored into an empty net at 18:30 for the 4-2 final.

“Good poise by [Taylor Raddysh], give it to Carlson, and I just try to go back door and saw the goalie sliding a little bit, so I went back to the strong side, and it was a great play all around,” Strome said. “Great pass.”

Tom Wilson scored two goals, and Chychrun had a goal and an assist for the Capitals (21-6-2), who have won four games in a row and are 8-0-1 in their past nine. Carlson had three assists, and Logan Thompson made 19 saves.

“You start pushing in those games, feel like something should be happening and the plays aren’t connecting, and you lose a bit of momentum,” Wilson said. “Just kind of refocused going into the third [period] and make sure that if we kind of pulled together and played a team game we’d find a way to win, and we did.”

Jason Zucker and Jiri Kulich scored for the Sabres (11-15-4), who are 0-6-3 in their past nine games. Luukkonen made 27 saves.

“We’ve got to learn how to be OK in a tie game or in those one-goal games and continue to push,” Zucker said. “Right now we have a tendency, and typically when you’re on a losing streak, you tend to do it a little bit more, trying to be safe and not lose a game rather than go take it and try to win.”

Zucker gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead at 1:36 of the first period. Ryan McLeod’s shot deflected off Jordan Greenway and then Zucker before sliding past Thompson.

Wilson tied it 1-1 with a power-play goal at 17:09, redirecting Carlson’s shot over Luukkonen's left shoulder.

Wilson then gave the Capitals a 2-1 lead at 5:11 of the second period, knocking home the rebound of Chychrun’s shot while falling to his knees in the slot during a power play.

The Capitals were 2-for-3 on the power play. The Sabres were 0-for-2.

“Special teams weren’t good enough,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. “That was probably the biggest difference in the game.”

Kulich tied it 2-2 at 7:24, tipping in Bowen Byram's point shot from in front.

“We controlled play for certain moments in the first period,” Washington coach Spencer Carbery said. “I thought we were OK, but it came off the rails for large portions of that game.”

The teams combined for 11 shots on goal in the third period.

“I think both teams were defending well,” Ruff said. “Both teams were paying attention just thinking we’re not going to give up the stuff we did in the second period.”

NOTES: The Capitals have allowed the fewest third-period goals (17) in the NHL this season. … Wilson has three multigoal games in his past seven and 11 points (seven goals, four assists) in his past 11. … Buffalo is 1-for-28 on the power play in its past 11 games. … Zucker has seven points (three goals, four assists) in his past six games.