HC Spencer Carbery pinpoints key factor in Washington Capitals’ 4-3 SO loss to Buffalo Sabres

The Washington Capitals fell 4-3 in a shootout to the Buffalo Sabres on Monday night at KeyBank Center. The loss dropped the Capitals to 26-10-4 on the season, although they remain top of the Metro Division.

Capitals head coach Spencer Carbery pointed to puck execution as the key factor in the defeat.

"We just really struggled in every facet, especially puck play execution. We just could not make a play tonight with the puck, 10 foot pass, whatever it might be," Carbery said postgame.

On defense, Carbery added:

"Yeah. I mean, that they're a little bit different each game, but tonight, especially wasn't good in the first 40 minutes."

The Sabres opened the scoring with a goal from JJ Peterka. Tom Wilson answered back with a power play goal to tie 1-1. Alex Tuch gave Buffalo a 2-1 lead in the second period by taking the puck from Jakob Chychrun and scoring on the breakaway.

Wilson knotted the game at 2-2 by scoring in a rebound in front of the net. But the Sabres retook the lead with Tage Thompson's power-play tally at 12:49 in the second period to make it 3-2.

Aliaksei Protas forced overtime by scoring for Washington in the third. But Peterka had the deciding goal in the shootout to seal the 4-3 victory for Buffalo.

Despite the loss, Carbery took some positives from his team's resilience to battle back when they struggled early on.

"The resiliency to battle back when we weren't very good at all, so to not fold the tent and to fight back in that game and get it to overtime is a positive that we'll draw from," he said.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen stopped 25 shots, while Charlie Lindgren saved 24 shots for the Washington Capitals.

Washington Capitals HC Spencer Carbery on John Carlson scoring his 700th career point

John Carlson recorded his 700th career point with an assist in Monday's game against the Buffalo Sabres. Carlson joined the elite group of just 31 blueliners to achieve this remarkable feat.

Head coach Spencer Carbery was quick to praise Carlson's accomplishment, stating,

"That's huge. It just speaks to another accolade for John and what he's accomplished in his career. He just keeps stacking those things up. Another credit to how impressive his career has been."

Carlson achieved his 700th career point in his 1,049th career game and is the sixth active defenseman to reach the milestone.

The Washington Capitals will look to bounce back in their next game against Vancouver Canucks on Wednesday.