WASHINGTON -- The skidding Washington Capitals were just over six minutes away from skidding a bit more Monday night. Then Marcus Johansson found the back of the net twice, turning those frowns upside down.

Johansson scored in overtime to cap a two-goal performance as the Washington Capitals rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Johansson's slap shot with 2:38 left in the extra session snapped a three-game losing streak for the Capitals (14-7-3). The final tally, his 11th of the season, came after he tipped a John Carlson perimeter shot in for the tying goal on the power-play with 6:18 left in the third period.

Zemgus Girgensons and Kyle Okposo each scored for the Sabres (9-10-6), who led 2-1 after two periods.

"They were all over us for a while," Johansson said after the ninth multi-goal game of his career. "It was tough there for a bit. But I think we came out in the third, and we talked in (the locker room), pulled ourselves together and played a lot better. ...It wasn't pretty, but we got the puck deep and we got it done, and that's all that matters."

Goaltender Robin Lehner stymied the slumping Capitals early, but finished with 30 saves. Washington had 16 of its 33 shots after the second period. Buffalo lacked its usual rotation on the blue line Monday with multiple defenders out, including Taylor Fedun (shoulder).

"We're starting to sit back and they have speed," Lehner said of Buffalo's late fade. "They got a lot of momentum and a power play. ...I think we had one good period."

Jay Beagle scored Washington's first goal in the second period, but Okposo countered with the go-ahead goal with 4:37 remaining for a 2-1 lead.

Braden Holtby finished with 31 saves for Washington, which hadn't won since defeating Buffalo 3-1 on Nov. 25.

The Capitals, who finished second in goals scored last season, had only three goals over the previous three losses -- with just one coming in Saturday's 2-1 shootout setback against the Tampa Bay Lightning.

"It's a big win for us," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said. "We needed to get mad and play the right way. We just didn't do it enough through the first 40 (minutes), but we did it for the last 20."

Washington entered Monday tied for 18th with 2.52 goals per game.

"It shows the guys aren't happy with the results we've been getting and what we've been doing on the ice," Holtby said of the late-game push. "That shows we have another level to go to."

The Sabres were without Jack Eichel in the previous meeting against the Capitals, but they welcomed their star center back for their next game and promptly took two of three before the rematch.

Eichel missed the opening 21 games with an ankle injury and pain developed in Monday's game, though coach Dan Bylsma labeled the apparent tweak as "fairly normal."

Buffalo opened the scoring as Derek Grant fed a rushing Girgensons for a one-on-one breakaway. With an open path, Girgensons beat Holtby with a backhand shot at 5:59 of the opening period for his second goal of the season and first since Oct. 18.

Beagle's fifth goal on the year tied the score 1-1 just 5:23 into the second period. It appeared the Sabres regained the lead later in the period, but a score by Johan Larsson was waved off after officials called offsides following a replay review.

Less than a minute later, Buffalo took the lead as Okposo gobbled up a rebound in front of the net and lifted the puck past a fallen Holtby. That seemed like enough until Johansson lifted up the Capitals late.

"We have to try and fight our way up the standings," Okposo said. "You might have some lulls in the season, but we already had ours. We have to make sure we're pushing forward and doing everything we can to get two points. Getting a point is OK, but we had the lead in the third."

NOTES: Capitals RW T.J. Oshie (shoulder) missed his seventh consecutive game. RW Brett Connolly, who scored a goal in the win against Buffalo last month, was also scratched. ... With D Taylor Fedun out, Buffalo recalled D Erik Burgdoerfer from the AHL's Rochester Americans. The move came a day after the Sabres declared D Josh Gorges out for several weeks with a non-displaced fracture of a bone in his foot. D Zach Bogosian was also scratched. ... The season series wraps up Friday in Buffalo. ... The Sabres host the Edmonton Oilers on Tuesday. ... The Boston Bruins visit Washington on Wednesday.