WASHINGTON — The Cockroach Caps are still alive.

With their backs against the walls following a tough loss in New Jersey, the Washington Capitals roared back against the Atlantic-leading Buffalo Sabres, with just about everyone chipping in en route to a dominant 6-2 win.

Wit the victory, Washington sits just one point out of the second Wild Card spot.

Here are the takeaways.

The Capitals got off to exactly the start they wanted, as they had the Sabres on their heels from the moment the puck dropped.

Jakob Chychrun opened the scoring after a strong forecehck from Pierre-Luc Dubois, who has points in three straight outings, and 20 seconds later, Dylan Strome extended the lead to 2-0 on a tap-in feed from Aliaksei Protas.

Then, just 2:17 later, Connor McMichael picked up a wide shot from Chychrun and put it past Alex Lyon, ending the Sabres netminder's night and making it 3-0.

While it was a promising start for the Capitals, Buffalo fought back, tilting the ice and generating quite a bit on Logan Thompson as the defense faltered.

First, Rasmus Dahlin cut to the inside and scored to cut it to 3-1, and then, Beck Malenstyn bit the hand that once fed him, scoring on a rebound to pull the Sabres to 3-2 entering the second.

The first showed just how strong the Capitals offense can be when it's clicking and firing on all cylinders, but it also showed the team's weaknesses and struggles as it gave up two quick goals to change the dynamic of the game.

With Washington needing some insurance in the second, where the Sabres had turned the tide, Aliaksei Protas, back from injury after having collided with Nic Dowd head-on in Vegas a week prior, stepped up to restore the momentum.

Protas took matters into his own hands at 4-on-4, and ultimately, carried the puck up ice and called his own number on a 2-on-1 with Cole Hutson for a 4-2 lead.

The 25-year-old has 24 goals on the season, and 22 of those have come at even strength, the second-most on the team this year. His assist also gave him yet another multi-point outing to lead D.C. to an important two points.

Then, in the third, Ryan Leonard added to his hot streak, picking up a drop pass from Cole Hutson and sniping a shot from the slot blocker side to make it a 5-2 game. Leonard now has points in four straight outings.

Tom Wilson also added to his hot streak with a highlight-reel goal, cutting to the inside and scoring on a backhander from his back while shorthanded to put things out of reach, 6-2.

Wilson has goals in three straight outings, with four total over that span.

With the Capitals needing "all hands on deck" for their final playoff push, coach Spencer Carbery decided to stick with Logan Thompson in net, starting him for 10th consecutive game.

If there was any fatigue, Thompson didn't show it, standing tall for a huge win over a red-hot buffalo team that clinched its first playoff berth in 14 seasons.

Thompson put on a clinic between the pipes, stopping 36 of 38 shots in the victory. He was quick on his feet, agile and did whatever it took to keep the puck out of the net, and he was tracking pucks well all night long.