Alex Tuch scored twice, JJ Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 on on Monday night.

In order to beat the No. 2 team in the NHL, the Buffalo Sabres had to play well and I thought they did that, especially after a four game road trip, some late nights, some blown games and a flight home from Las Vegas on Sunday.

The Capitals are ‘just a little off’ and drop a 4-3 shootout loss on the road against the team with the fewest points in the Eastern Conference.

After Tuch's marker in the third round of the shootout, JJ Peterka scored the clinching goal in the next round. Following Peterka's goal, Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made the save on Jakob Chychrun's attempt to seal the win for Buffalo, which had lost three straight games (0-2-1) after winning three in a row.

Alex Tuch and JJ Peterka each scored goals in both regulation and the shootout to lead the Buffalo Sabres to a 4-3 win over the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center on Monday.

BUFFALO -- Alex Tuch scored twice for the Buffalo Sabres in a 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center on Monday. JJ Peterka, who had two assists, scored the deciding goal in the shootout.

BOTTOM LINE: The Buffalo Sabres play the Washington Capitals as losers of three straight games. Buffalo has a 14-21-5 record overall and a 7-10-3 record on its home ice. The Sabres are 3-5-4 in one-goal games. Washington has gone 13-6-0 in road games and 26-10-3 overall. The Capitals are 11-4-1 when scoring a power-play goal.

January 7 - Alex Tuch scored one goal in the shootout after nailing two in regulation as the Buffalo Sabres topped the visiting Washington Capitals 4-3 on Monday night. After Tuch's marker in the ...

BUFFALO, N.Y. — Alex Tuch scored twice, JJ Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Washington Capitals 4-3 on on Monday night. Tage Thompson also scored ...