3 least impressive Washington Capitals players from 8-5 loss to Buffalo Sabres feat. Logan Thompson 

The Washington Capitals are guaranteed a spot in the Stanley Cup Playoffs, having already clinched their spot earlier this week thanks to their strong regular-season record.

However, Sunday afternoon's game served as a stark reminder that any of the teams can beat one another on a given day. The Capitals were defeated by the struggling Buffalo Sabres, who will not be in the playoffs for a 14th straight season.

The Sabres got two goals each from Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson, along with tallies from Peyton Krebs, Jack Quinn, Ryan McLeod and Sam Lafferty while also getting 24 saves from James Reimer.

The scorers for the Capitals included Alex Ovechkin, who notched the 890th tally of his career to move within four tallies of tying Wayne Gretzky for most goals all time.

The Capitals also got goals from Aliaksei Protas, Pierre-Luc Dubois, and two from Jakub Chychrun, who recently signed a multi-year extension.

3 least impressive Washington Capitals players from 8-5 loss to Buffalo Sabres

#1. Logan Thompson

The first-year Washington Capitals goaltender has been a revelation after coming over from the Vegas Golden Knights, posting some of the most impressive numbers of his career and getting rewarded with a lengthy contract extension to remain with the franchise.

However, his performance against the lowly Sabres on Sunday was just plain subpar. He allowed seven goals on just 23 shots, finishing with an eye-opening .682 save percentage.

He'd be the first to say it was easily his worst performance of the season, but one that he won't dwell on with the Stanley Cup Playoffs so close.

#2. Matt Roy

Speaking of first-year Washington Capitals players who have made a strong impact on their success, Matt Roy fits both of those categories.

But just like Thompson, his performance as part of the loss against the Sabres was lacking. He was caught out of position several times and finished with a -2 rating in 17:56 of total ice time on Sunday.

He was also guilty of committing a giveaway.

#3. Lars Eller

A veteran presence on the Washington Capitals roster that they re-acquired from the Pittsburgh Penguins earlier this season, Eller was a complete non-factor in Sunday's loss.

He was one of the only Capitals players that not only finished with no points, but not even a single shot on goal.

He played in 13:18 of ice time, blocking a single Sabres shot.