Thompson, Tuch help Sabres outlast Ovechkin, Capitals with 8-5 win

WASHINGTON (AP) — Alex Tuch and Tage Thompson each scored twice and the Buffalo Sabres beat the Washington Capitals 8-5 on Sunday.

Ryan McLeod, Sam Lafferty, Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs also scored for the Sabres, winners of four of the last five.

Alex Ovechkin scored his 890th career goal to move within five of passing Wayne Gretzky, Jakob Chychrun had two goals and Aliaksei Protas and Pierre-Luc Dubois also scored for the Capitals, who have lost three straight games for the second time this season.

James Reimer extended his winning streak to four games, stopping 24 of 29 shots to advance to 13-5-6.

Meanwhile, Logan Thompson stopped 15 of 22 shots in the loss to drop to 31-5-6 on the season.

Sabres: Tage Thompson struck twice on the power play for his fourth goal in as many games and now leads Buffalo with 38 goals this season. The Sabres now have power-play goals in back-to-back games and three of the last five overall.

Capitals: Chychrun continues to be a valuable pickup for D.C., as he hit the 20-goal mark for the first time in his career with another multigoal outing. He's the first Capitals defenseman to record at least 20 goals in a season since Mike Green in 2008-09.

Quinn capitalized on a turnover and broke away, beating Logan Thompson for the eventual game-winning goal.

After playing for just under three minutes in the second period, Ovechkin scored on a deflection. He has 37 goals on the season, tied for the fifth-most in the NHL despite missing 16 games with a broken fibula.

The Sabres visit Ottawa on Tuesday, the same night the Capitals play at Boston.

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Buffalo Sabres right wing JJ Peterka (77) chases the puck past Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson (43) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals right wing Tom Wilson, right, hits Buffalo Sabres defenseman Mattias Samuelsson (23) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals defenseman Martin Fehérváry (42) skates with the puck past Buffalo Sabres defenseman Bowen Byram (4) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Lars Eller, left, battles for the puck against Buffalo Sabres center Jiri Kulich, right, during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Washington Capitals center Connor McMichael (24) chases the puck against Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) during the first period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Buffalo Sabres right wing Alex Tuch (89) celebrates after his goal with defenseman Connor Clifton (75) and center Peyton Krebs (19) during the second period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Buffalo Sabres center Tage Thompson (72) celebrates with teammates after his goal during the first period of an NHL hockey game against the Washington Capitals, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) scores a goal past Washington Capitals goaltender Logan Thompson (48) during the second period of an NHL hockey game, Sunday, March 30, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put its retaliatory measures against new U.S. tariffs on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump ’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters on Wednesday that the pause was not a result of the brutal sell-offs in the financial markets but rather because other countries are seeking negotiations. Trump later told reporters that he pulled back on many tariffs because people were getting “yippy” and “afraid.”

Here's the latest:

“This will give us the opportunity to negotiate the reduction of tariffs so that the playing field is leveled,” said Lesotho Minister of Trade and Industry Mokhethi Shelile.

Lesotho, which relies on making and exporting clothes to the U.S. for brands like Levi’s, had feared almost half its clothing sector could be put out of business.

In Madagascar, which provides 80% of the world’s vanilla, exporters said there was now more time for government and industry officials to meet and plot a way forward.

And South Africa Trade and Industry Minister Parks Tau said on Radio 702 that while his country received confirmation that proposed export tariffs by the U.S. were paused, the 10% baseline tariff meant “it is not completely off.”

South Africa is one of more than 30 countries eligible for tariff-free access to the American market under the African Growth and Opportunity Act agreement that has been in place for 25 years. Many of them fear that Trump’s tariff tactics will mean the agreement will not be renewed.

Trump’s top economic advisers will gather a day after the president announced he was suspending for 90 days import taxes on dozens of countries while escalating his trade war with China to discuss the president’s options moving forward.

“The chief of staff’s office has called all the principals who have, you know, skin in the game and discuss their views about how this should go,” Kevin Hassett, director of the White House National Economic Council, told reporters on Thursday.

Hassett added that 15 countries have already presented offers to the administration aimed at getting Trump to drop his reciprocal tariffs. He did not detail which countries have presented offers.

This morning, at 10 a.m. ET, Trump will receive his intelligence briefing in the Oval Office.

At 11 a.m., he will participate in a cabinet meeting.

At 12:30 p.m., he will attend the swearing-in ceremony for the solicitor general.

Later, at 4 p.m., he will participate in a bill signing in the Oval Office, according to the White House.

World markets soared on Thursday, with Japan’s benchmark jumping more than 9% as investors welcomed Trump’s decision to put his latest tariff hikes on hold for 90 days.

In early trading, Germany’s DAX initially gained more than 8%. By midmorning, they were up 5.3% at 20,720.86, while France’s CAC 40 in Paris gained 5% to 7,204.23. Britain’s FTSE 100 surged 4.0% to 7,983.37.

Chinese shares saw more moderate gains, given yet another jump in the tariffs each side is imposing on each other’s exports.

The future for the S&P 500 was down 2.1%, while the contract for the Dow Jones Industrial Average dropped 1.6%.

Analysts had expected the global comeback, given that U.S. stocks had one of their best days in history on Wednesday as investors registered their relief over Trump’s decision.

▶ Read more about the global markets

China is reaching out to other nations as the U.S. layers on more tariffs in what appears to be an attempt to form a united front to compel Washington to retreat. Days into the effort, it’s meeting only partial success with many countries unwilling to ally with the main target of Trump’s trade war.

China has thus far focused on Europe, with a phone call between Premier Li Qiang and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen “sending a positive message to the outside world.”

That was followed by a video conference between Chinese Commerce Minister Wang Wentao and EU Commissioner for Trade and Economic Security Šefčović on Tuesday to discuss the U.S. “reciprocal tariffs.”

Wang has also spoken with the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations, while Li, the premier, has met with business leaders. China has “already made a full evaluation and is prepared to deal with all kinds of uncertainties, and will introduce incremental policies according to the needs of the situation,” Xinhua News Agency quoted Li as saying.

▶ Read more about China’s response to Trump’s tariffs

Trump delivered another jarring reversal in American trade policy Wednesday, suspending for 90 days import taxes he’d imposed barely 13 hours earlier on dozens of countries while escalating his trade war with China. The moves triggered a powerful stock market rally on Wall Street but left businesses, investors and America’s trading partners bewildered about what the president is attempting to achieve.

The U-turn came after the sweeping global tariffs Trump announced last week set off a four-day rout in global financial markets, paralyzed businesses and raised fears the U.S. and world economies would tumble into recession.

White House press secretary Karoline Leavitt tried to characterize the sudden change in policy as part of a grand negotiating strategy. But to those outside the Trump administration, it looked like a cave-in to market pressure and to growing fears that the president’s impetuous use of import taxes — tariffs — would cause massive collateral economic damage.

▶ Read more about Trump’s reversal on most tariffs

The European Union’s executive commission said Thursday it will put its retaliatory measures against new U.S. tariffs on hold for 90 days to match President Donald Trump’s pause on his sweeping new tariffs and leave room for a negotiated solution.

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen said that the commission, which handles trade for the 27 member countries, “took note of the announcement by President Trump.”

New tariffs on 20.9 billion euros ($23 billion) of US goods will be put on hold for 90 days because “we want to give negotiations a chance,” she said in a statement.

But she warned: “If negotiations are not satisfactory, our countermeasures will kick in.”

Trump imposed a 20% levy on goods from the EU as part of his onslaught of tariffs against global trading partners but has said he will pause them for 90 days to give countries a chance to negotiate solutions to U.S. trade concerns.

President Donald Trump speaks during an event on energy production in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)

People walk in Leadenhall Market at lunch time, in the financial district, known as The City in London, Wednesday, April 9, 2025. (AP Photo/Alberto Pezzali)

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick leaves after doing a television interview outside the White House, Wednesday, April 2, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Mark Schiefelbein)

President Donald Trump signs an executive order during an event in the East Room of the White House, Tuesday, April 8, 2025, in Washington. (AP Photo/Alex Brandon)