BUFFALO, N.Y. -- A pair of unlikely contributors took down the NHL's hottest goalie on Saturday night.

Two recent AHL call-ups, right winger Phil Varone and center Tim Schaller, led the Sabres to a 4-1 win over Braden Holtby and the Washington Capitals. The Sabres chased Holtby from the net midway through the second period on their way to a convincing victory.

"I think if you'd leave the first period getting goals from Varone and Schaller, no one would've taken that bet," Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said.

Left winger Evander Kane and defenseman Cody Franson also scored for Buffalo (18-23-4), and goalie Chad Johnson made 33 saves.

Holtby ended a historic run between the pipes for the Capitals and was pulled after allowing three goals on 16 shots. It was Holtby's first regulation loss in 23 games after a 20-0-2 streak. He was one game short of tying Jose Theodore's franchise-record, 23-game point streak from 2009 to 2010. It was just the second point streak of 22 or more games in the previous 20 seasons.

Holtby was replaced by Philipp Grubauer, who made 12 saves.

"I was just trying to change the momentum because I didn't like what I was seeing," Capitals coach Barry Trotz said.

It was a rare lackluster effort from the Capitals (33-8-3), who saw a five-game winning streak come to a close. Washington had won 14 of its previous 16 games and outscored their previous two opponents 11-1.

Left winger Marcus Johansson scored Washington's lone goal.

"There's some days you need to tip your hand to the other team," defenseman Karl Alzner said. "They played good tonight and we need to turn the page."

Varone opened the scoring 10:40 into the first period on a rebound opportunity. After a blast from the right point by defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen, the rebound fell directly to Varone, who pounced for his first goal of the year.

"Got the puck below their goal and just went low to high," Varone said. "It's a nice bounce for me, lucky to be there and happy to put it in."

Schaller doubled Buffalo's lead on a short-handed breakaway with four minutes left in the first period. He forced a turnover at the Buffalo blue line and beat Holtby with a high wrist shot to the blocker side for his first goal of the season.

The shorthanded tally capped an impressive evening on special teams for the Sabres. Buffalo also stopped all four Washington power plays.

"I thought really the penalty kill and special teams was a real big factor in the game," Bylsma said.

Kane made it 3-0 7:13 into the second period. After receiving a pass from center Ryan O'Reilly, Kane flung a long shot from behind the left circle that Holtby got a piece of but managed to trickle over the goal line. It was Kane's ninth goal of the season and his first since Dec. 26.

Franson made it 4-0 with 4:23 left in the second period with a blast from the right circle. Grubauer was out of position, allowing Franson to score on the short side from a hard angle.

The Sabres showed plenty of gumption as well. After a tussle between Sabres center Sam Reinhart and Capitals right winger Tom Wilson at the end of the second period, Sabres left winger Marcus Foligno stepped up with a spirited fight with Wilson midway through the third.

"There was more than one guy who wanted to do that for his teammate and was glad to see someone step up," Bylsma said.

Johansson got the Capitals on the board 2:54 into the third period. After a nifty backhand pass by left winger Jason Chimera along the left boards, Johansson buried a one-timer from the slot for his 11th goal of the season.

The Capitals are hoping to quickly turn the page. Washington has a quick turnaround with a home game against the New York Rangers at 5 p.m. on Sunday.

"Get right back at it and just kind of get rid of that game because that's not our team," Alzner said.

NOTES: D Josh Gorges, C Zemgus Girgensons and D Carlo Colaiacovo were scratched for the Sabres. Gorges was a late scratch because of an upper-body injury. Girgensons suffered the injury in the first period of Buffalo's 4-1 loss to Boston on Friday. ... D Mark Pysyk returned to the lineup for Buffalo missing 26 games. Pysyk was out because of a broken foot, but was a healthy scratch in the previous two games. ... C Brooks Laich, D Ryan Stanton and RW Stanislav Galiev were scratched for the Capitals. ... This was the third and final meeting between the teams this season.