Peca

"I'm not going to whine about it. I think it's a physical game and things are going to happen," Peca, his arm in a sling, said as the Sabres practiced Monday. "I know things don't always go the way you'd like them to and that's why it's a team game."

Peca instigated the fight after the final horn and weaved to the locker room after falling under Capitals left wing Steve Konowalchuk.

"I did not see it, but he said that Konowalchuk cross-checked him in the face and went after him," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "He was bleeding and has a dislocated shoulder."

Peca is a durable, physical center who plays on the power play, kills penalties and won the 1997 Selke Trophy as the NHL's top defensive forward. He has 17 goals and 19 assists while playing all of Buffalo's 67 games this season. The injury ends his streak of 149 games played.

The Sabres, who advanced to the Stanley Cup Finals last year, dropped to 1-4-1 during the stretch run and remained three points behind the New York Rangers for the final playoff spot in the East.