In a separate altercation, the Capitals’ Tom Wilson and Jordan Greenway exchanged blows, further contributing to the chaos on the ice as players from both teams joined in the scuffle.

Watch the video here:

TAGE, PACIORETTY, TOM WILSON ALL THROWING HANDS AT THE END OF THE GAME 😳 pic.twitter.com/DA3PMTzHCl

— B/R Open Ice (@BR_OpenIce) April 12, 2024

Wilson, Pacioretty, Thompson and Greenway were all assessed a five-minute major penalty for fighting. The contest between the two teams ended with Buffalo beating Washington, 4-2 in the end.

How Buffalo Sabres downed Washington Capitals

On Thursday night, the Buffalo Sabres hosted the Washington Capitals at KeyBank Center.

The home team came out on top with a 4-2 win, and with that, the Caps lost hold of the wild card spot, as the Pittsburgh Penguins gained a point advantage in the standings following their overtime win over the Detroit Red Wings.

Zach Benson put the home side up 1-0 after scoring on Jeff Skinner’s assist in the low shot at 19:00 of the first period. Coming into the second period, Alex Tuch extended the Sabres’ lead to two goals after scoring a wrist shot on a backhand pass from Henri Jokiharju 12:37 into the period.

Over two minutes later, Connor McMichael slotted a backhand pass from Max Pacioretty into the back of the Sabres net to make it 2-1 for the Capitals. In the third period, Jack Quinn restored the home side’s lead to 3-1 at 9:46 before Dylan Cozens made it 4-1 with an empty net goal at 17:43.

BUFFALO SABRES WIN‼️ pic.twitter.com/yoRdADr4UP

— Buffalo Sabres (@BuffaloSabres) April 12, 2024

At 19:00, Tom Wilson scored for the Caps for a final scoreline of 4-2. Greenway and Jokiharju collected two points for the Sabres, while Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 22 saves on the night.

As for the Caps, John Carlson garnered two points while Alex Ovechkin notched up an assist in the matchup. The Caps now trail the Pens by a point for the second wild card spot in the East with three games remaining.

The Capitals host the Tampa Bay Lightning next on Saturday while the Sabres face the Florida Panthers on the same day.