Locker Room: Capitals Ready To Forget ‘Uncharacteristic, Ugly’ Loss To Buffalo

WASHINGTON — It wasn't the greatest game for the Washington Capitals on Tuesday to kick off the new year, as the team was able to escape with a point against the Buffalo Sabres thanks to Alex Ovechkin and Sonny Milano but ended up losing 5-4 in OT due to costly mistakes and sloppy play.

Here's what the Capitals had to say following the loss to Buffalo:

Alex Ovechkin

On the turning point for Washington to force OT after rough start: "I think [it] was when we start play hard we start put puck deep, forechecking well, it kind of opens up in the offensive zone more time. How I said, we have very good chances right away in the second period then execute and then score."

On Tage Thompson: "Yeah obviously he's big, strong. Good puck mover, you know? Have great shot. They young, they talented group of guys out there but it was one game."

T.J. Oshie

On the Capitals' performance through 60 minutes: "It was an inconsistent game for us. Not a great first period at all with Darce kind of keeping us in it there. I thought a good second, pretty decent third, too. Just gave up a couple three. Like you said our kill did a great job of getting us a point and then play at the end in OT kind of like the other where it was just a very small little mistake and it'd end up costing it which 3-on-3 overtime usually does. So inconsistent game for us and something that we've been doing a good job of I think is playing consistently, consistently hard, good defensively. And tonight, just a little too inconsistent against a team that can make you pay for playing like that."

On the turnovers against the Sabres and uncharacteristic loss: "We turned the puck over in a bunch of different ways at times in the game tonight and it cost us. Sometimes guys holding onto it too long, sometimes guys just not bearing down and making the play that needed to be made. So after the roll we've been on, the wins these guys have piled in, a game like that felt super uncharacteristic for us so we'll grab it quick and luckily we play in a couple more days with a back-to-back and can right the ship pretty quick here."

Sonny Milano

On the rough start: "Yeah, it was definitely really ugly. Wasn't a great first period but we came back and it was just puck management, tape-to-tape passes and things like they weren't really being executed well in the first period so I think we cleared that up and I think we played pretty well rest of the game."

On the line tweaks and playing with Nic Dowd and T.J. Oshie: "Yeah, sometimes that kind of wakes the guys up too, you know? I was with Osh and Dowder and those are two hard-working guys so I definitely got some chemistry with them and it was a lot of fun."