Sabres let lead slip away, but hold on for big divisional win
Sabres let lead slip away, but hold on for big divisional win
The Buffalo Sabres rebounded from a disappointing loss to the Montreal Canadiens on Monday with an offensive breakout in a 6-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators in Kanata, ON on Tuesday. On the night that the Sens honored goalie Craig Anderson, the Sabres division rival showed that they could have used him between the pipes, as starting goalie Anton Forsberg allowed five goals before being pulled in the third in favor of Joonas Korpisalo.
After being held to three goals or less in their first six games, the Sabres took advantage of Ottawa’s porous defense to take a 5-1 lead into the third period. Sens captain Brady Tkachuk appeared to be seriously injured after colliding with Peyton Krebs late in the second, but Tkachuk returned for the third and inspired his team to rally after winning a fight with Buffalo’s Alex Tuch.
Ottawa scored three times in the final five minutes to narrow the margin to 5-4, but could not convert on a power play in the final minute to tie the game. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 34 saves for his first victory of the season.
Here are three takeaways from Buffalo’s 6-4 win over Ottawa:
Big Guns Finally Find Their Mark
Through six games, only Jeff Skinner had any success finding the mark, while Tage Thompson and Alex Tuch had been held to two points (1 goal, 1 assist). Skinner continued his torrid pace with a pair of goals but was joined by Thompson and Tuch, who combined for five points (3 goals, 2 assists).
Heading To The Net
Heeding the advice of head coach Don Granato, the Sabres were much more active in front of Forsberg, who was 2-0, with a 1.50 GAA entering the game. Goals by Zemgus Girgensons, Thompson, and Tuch were all on deflections of point shots where the Ottawa goalie's vision was obscured.
Mirror Images
The Senators and Sabres are very similarly situated and have some of the same flaws. The two clubs both have top-end offensive talent at forward and have franchise cornerstones on the blueline, but their path to the postseason may only be prevented by their growing pains defensively and by questionable goaltending.
Buffalo was baited into late-game chicanery by Tkachuk and nearly frittered away a four-goal lead in the final five minutes of the game. Ottawa signed Korpisalo in hopes that he was the answer to their goaltending issues, but he has struggled out of the gate. Luukkonen was solid for most of the contest, and the four goals were all a result of poor defensive zone coverage.
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