Tuch scores overtime winner against former team as Capitals edge Sabres 4-3

Alex Tuch scored twice, including the overtime winner against his former team, and Dylan Strome added two goals and an assist as the Washington Capitals beat the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 on Saturday night at Capital One Arena.

The Capitals fell behind 2-1 after the first period, then scored twice in the second to take a 3-2 lead into the third. Buffalo tied it with the only goal of the third period before Tuch ended it in overtime.

The win moved Washington to 6-4-0 with 12 points, including a 5-2-0 mark at home. The Sabres dropped to 4-4-3 and 1-1-3 on the road.

Strome and Tuch lead the way

Strome finished with three points, led all Capitals skaters with five shots and was a plus-3 on the night. He also won 11 of 16 faceoffs on a night the Sabres otherwise controlled the dot, winning 56.6 percent of the draws.

Tuch, who logged a team-high 22:32 among Washington forwards, scored his sixth and seventh goals of the season. Jordan Kyrou and Jakob Chychrun each picked up two assists, with Justin Sourdif and Martin Fehervary adding one apiece. Chychrun also led the team with five blocked shots and played 25:01.

Josh Doan, Noah Ostlund and Jack Quinn scored for Buffalo. Rasmus Dahlin, Owen Power, Olen Zellweger, Zach Benson and Ryan McLeod had assists.

Capitals control the shot clock

Washington outshot Buffalo 34-21 and had a 26-15 edge in hits and a 21-9 advantage in blocked shots. The Sabres were charged with 24 giveaways to Washington's 15.

Neither power play connected. The Capitals went 0-for-3 with the man advantage and Buffalo was 0-for-2. Tuch and Tom Wilson each served a minor for Washington, while Konsta Helenius, Mattias Samuelsson and Zellweger took penalties for the Sabres.

Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves on 21 shots for Washington. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 30 of 34 in the Buffalo net.

Rookie forward Ilya Protas played 9:25, including 2:12 on the power play, and blocked three shots.

Up next

The win leaves Washington fourth in the Metropolitan Division with 12 points, behind Carolina (20), the Rangers (15) and New Jersey (14). Buffalo sits last in the Atlantic with 11 points.

The Capitals stay home to face the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday, Oct. 28, 2026, at 7:30 p.m. ET. The announced attendance Saturday was 18,347.