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 going down 1-0 in the shootout, the Buffalo Sabres (15-21-5) scored in the third and fourth rounds as they then watched their netminder Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen secure the win against the Washington Capitals (26-10-4).

Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson also scored for the Sabres. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 25 saves and stopped three of four shooters in the shootout to end their three-game losing skid. Tuch also scored during the shootout.

Caps defenseman John Carlson set up Aliaksei Protas for the tying goal with 4:13 left in regulation, securing a point for the Capitals in a game in which they were far from their best. In the process, Carlson recorded his 700th career NHL point, becoming just the 13th blueliner in NHL history to reach that lofty plateau with one franchise.