WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch scored two goals, including the winner in overtime, to lead the Washington Capitals to a win over the Buffalo Sabres, 4-3 on Saturday night.
Charlie Lindgren made 18 saves for the Capitals.
Tuch opened the scoring for Washington when a pass bounced off Tage Thompson’s stick and into his own net. Dylan Strome scored 2:59 into the second period, then once more with 2:36 left in the period.
Tuch was acquired this summer by the Capitals from the Sabres via sign-and-trade. He signed an eight-year, $84 million deal to help bolster the Capitals' offense.
Jack Quinn and Josh Doan scored early for Buffalo to put the visitors up by two. The Capitals’ offense found its footing, though, and turned up the pressure on the Sabres’ defense to gain the lead in the second period, only to have Noah Ostlund tie it once again 2:20 into the third period. The game remained tied through the remainder of the third period, despite multiple power play opportunities and scoring chances for both teams.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 30 saves for the Sabres.
The Capitals were coming off a loss to the previously winless Los Angeles Kings on Tuesday. And, after a three-day break which allowed them to get both Pierre Luc-Dubois and Justin Sourdif back into the forward lines, the looked far more complete against the Sabres.
Buffalo has now lost three games in a row and has just three points in its last five games.
Sabres: At the San Jose Sharks on Tuesday
Capitals: Host the Philadelphia Flyers on Wednesday.
See AP’s full NHL coverage here
Buffalo Sabres right wing Josh Doan (91) reaches for the puck during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals center Dylan Strome (17) celebrates after his goal near Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power (25) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
Washington Capitals right wing Alex Tuch, second from left, celebrates his goal with teammates during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Buffalo Sabres, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)
DETROIT (AP) — Former President Barack Obama on Saturday seized on what he described as cruelty and indecency coming from President Donald Trump and his Republican allies, stepping into one of the nation's ugliest midterm fights as he worked to rally Democratic voters in two Midwestern battlegrounds.
First in Ohio, Obama took aim at Republican gubernatorial candidate Vivek Ramaswamy, who has doubled down on an advertising campaign featuring the estranged mother of Democratic rival Dr. Amy Acton. Trump and Vice President JD Vance have also defended the ad, even as Republican leaders across Ohio, including Gov. Mike DeWine, have called for its removal.
“In recent days, we’ve seen there is no line he will not cross, no low he will not sink to,” Obama said of Ramaswamy, noting that Acton has “spoken movingly about her painful childhood and all she’s experienced: abuse, neglect and homelessness.”
Later in Michigan, Obama condemned critics of Senate candidate Abdul El-Sayed, suggesting that they're using his name or his faith to tear him down.
“We have seen this movie before. I starred in it,” Obama told a packed high school gym in Detroit. “I’ve got a long-form birth certificate to prove it."
“Abdul is as Michigan as it gets," he added.
Obama, 65, remains the Democratic Party’s best motivator nearly a decade after leaving the White House. And he's taking his star power on the road in the final days of the midterm elections, which will help determine the balance of power in American politics on Nov. 3.
Trump cast his own ballot on Saturday in Florida, where he defended the Ramaswamy ad, which has emerged as a national flashpoint a little more than a week before Election Day.
“The mother said that Amy Acton is a liar, and she’s no good," Trump said. "And you know what? I don’t think you can get a better reference on that.”
The Ramaswamy campaign video features Acton’s birth mother, Donna Arthur, calling her “a liar” and insinuating she has mental health issues.
Acton, Ohio’s COVID-19-era health director, has made no secret of facing homelessness and abuse as a child. Arthur lost custody of her children after their stepfather, Arthur’s husband, was indicted on a charge of rape involving Acton.
The abuse allegedly happened from December 1976 to April 1978. Cledith Arthur failed to show for a court appearance and became a fugitive. Donna Arthur remained married to him until his death in 2004.
Appearing before Obama, Acton spoke as if addressing Ramaswamy directly.
“My opponent has chosen to exploit, intentionally, my childhood to save his stumbling campaign, but it’s not going to work,” she said. “Decency still matters.” She added: “Mr. Ramaswamy, you are not just out of touch, you are out for yourself and you are a danger to my state. Apparently there is no low to which you won’t stoop.”
Although Ohio has become more reliably Republican, it's been a hotly contested battleground this year. Trump and Vance have both visited the state in recent weeks to drum up support for Sen. Jon Husted and Ramaswamy. And the controversy over Ramaswamy's ad has ratcheted up the already high temperature.
Michigan, too, is a critical state this midterm season, with high-stakes contests for the Senate and governor.
While Obama addressed both races, he offered a passionate defense of El-Sayed, a former public health official running against former Rep. Mike Rogers, a Republican.
The former president pushed back against those who call El-Sayed a radical, declaring that “Abdul shares my values.” He also acknowledged that El-Sayed was critical of him after his 2012 reelection for not following through on all of his progressive campaign promises.
El-Sayed wrote that Obama “was not the right choice — he just wasn’t the wrong one.”
“Some of these folks say, well, you know, Abdul didn’t like some of the things you did as president,” Obama said in Detroit, wearing a blue shirt with no tie, his sleeves rolled up. “You know who else doesn’t agree with everything I do? Michelle Obama. Michelle Obama, about five times a day.”
Democrats hoped that Obama’s appearance in the city, which is three-quarters Black, could bolster support for El-Sayed among Black voters. In the primary, his opponent Haley Stevens won Wayne County, which includes Detroit, by about 6 percentage points. Former Vice President Kamala Harris, the first Black and South Asian vice president, campaigned for El-Sayed in September.
Cheryl McWilliams, 67, said Obama’s speech “pumps you up to vote,” and she's hoping to see high turnout in the midterms.
“If Detroit doesn’t vote, whoever’s running is going to lose, period,” McWilliams said. “I’m just hoping we can reach voters that don’t vote. They think it doesn’t matter, and it does.”
Chunnika Hodges, who lives in Detroit and canvassed for El-Sayed on Saturday, said some Black voters are supporting Rogers because they don’t think anything has changed after years of voting for Democrats. Some are also wary of El-Sayed because of his progressive policies, Hodges said.
“We don’t lean to the conservative, but we have seen that within our community,” Hodges said. “There are conservative Blacks, conservative Democrats.”
While Obama talked up Democratic candidates in Ohio and Michigan, he also spoke at length about Trump.
He accused the Republican president and his family of rampant corruption and called out his inability to lower costs, noting that Trump has instead focused on building a new White House ballroom and helipad on the South Lawn.
“I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he seems very focused on home renovation," Obama quipped. “He should be on HGTV.” He went on: “There's gold everywhere. He’s got the White House looking like Saddam Hussein opened a Cheesecake Factory.”
The former Democratic president acknowledged that the nation has Trump for another two years, until his term ends. But voters are not stuck with Trump’s allies, he said.
“We’re not stuck with a spineless Congress and Republican governors who are handling lawlessness and carelessness and cruelty and indifference for working people,” Obama said. “After two years of chaos and cruelty and corruption and incompetence … you get a chance to say enough is enough.”
Obama will headline a rally in Georgia next week with Sen. Jon Ossoff and candidate for governor Keisha Lance Bottoms. Trump, campaigning in Perry, Georgia, on Saturday evening with their Republican rivals, made several references to Obama's Michigan event, insisting “the place was empty.”
Peoples reported from New York. AP writer Jill Colvin in New York contributed. GaNun is a corps member for The Associated Press/Report for America Statehouse News Initiative. Report for America is a nonprofit national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on undercovered issues.
Supporters for Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed applaud during a speech by former President Barack Obama, during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School on Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit. (AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
From left, Democratic Ohio gubernatorial candidate Amy Acton, left, former President Barack Obama, center, and Ohio Democratic candidate for U.S. Senate Sherrod Brown, right, attend a campaign rally Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama, center, joined by Democratic nominee for U.S. Senate Abdul El-Sayed, left, and Democratic gubernatorial nominee and Michigan Secretary of State Jocelyn Benson raise hands during a campaign event at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Former President Barack Obama, greets supporters upon his arrival during a campaign rally at Cass Technical High School Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Detroit.(AP Photo/Paul Sancya)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama greets the crowd during a campaign rally, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Former President Barack Obama speaks during a campaign rally for Democratic Ohio Senate candidate Sherrod Brown, Saturday, Oct. 24, 2026, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki)
Sen. Jon Husted, R-Ohio, attends a campaign rally before Vice President JD Vance speaks at the Sharonville Convention Center, Wednesday, Oct. 21, 2026, in Sharonville, Ohio. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin, Pool)
