Thompson lit up, mental miscues, and more: 3 reasons why Washington Capitals lost 8-5 to Buffalo Sabres

The Washington Capitals dropped a surprising 8-5 game to the cellar-dwelling Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon at the Capital One Arena. Alex Ovechkin scored his 890th goal to inch closer to Wayne Gretzky’s all-time goal-scoring record of 894.

Jakob Chychrun scored twice for the Washington Capitals, with Aliaksei Protas (SHG), Alex Ovechkin, and Pierre-Luc Dubois (PPG) adding the others for the Caps. Meanwhile, Alex Tuch and Tage Thomspon scored twice for the Buffalo Sabes with Ryan McLeod, Sam Lafferty, Jack Quinn, and Peyton Krebs (EN) getting the other tallies for the Sabres.

So, here’s a look at the three main reasons why the Washington Capitals lost to the Buffalo Sabres on Sunday afternoon.

3 reasons why Washington Capitals lost to Buffalo Sabres

#3 Subpar penalty kill

The Washington Capitals’ penalty kill was largely underwhelming on Sunday afternoon. The Caps surrendered two power-play goals as part of a poor defensive effort. In particular, each goal with the man advantage came at an inopportune time.

The first power-play goal surrendered came with the Caps leading 1-0. Tage Thompson scored to tie the game before the end of the first period.

Then, the Aliaksei Protas scored a short-handed goal to close the gap to one goal early in the third. But then, Thompson stuck again to widen the gap to a two-goal difference less than a minute later.

Had the Caps’ penalty kill been more effective, the game’s outcome could have been much different. Instead, the two goals killed the Caps’ momentum, leaving the club searching for answers.

#2 Mental miscues

The Washington Capitals surrendered eight goals to the worst team in the Eastern Conference. While even the best teams can have an off-game, the mental miscues shown by the Caps against Buffalo are unacceptable for a team that’s considered a Stanley Cup contender.

Let’s take a look at one such example:

On this play, Alex Ovechkin moved in for a slapshot as the Caps looked to tie the game. Instead, Jack Quinn intercepted the pass, stripping Ovechkin of the puck. Quinn moved in on the breakaway and beat Logan Thompson with a laser to the top corner to make the game 6-3.

Here’s another example:

With the score 3-2 in the second, the Caps attempted to dump the puck into the Sabres' zone. However, the dump-in attempt was weak, allowing the Sabres to come back the other way and score on a 3-on-2 rush.

The miscues added up on Sunday afternoon, costing the Capitals two points in the standings.

#1 Logan Thompson lit up

Logan Thompson, who’s been terrific all year, gave up seven goals on 22 shots on the night. Thompson had a bad game, surrendering goals he just wouldn’t have allowed on other nights.

Here’s a look at a tough break:

The point shot from Alex Tuch beat Thompson cleanly. Thompson’s reaction said it all as he knew that was a shot he should have had.

All told, the Capitals will be looking to bounce back as they take on the Boston Bruins on Tuesday night at the TD Garden.