Ottawa, Ontario (WGR 550) - The Buffalo Sabres had a very good game plan on Tuesday night in Ottawa, and held off a late Senators push to win, 6-4.
Unlike Monday against the Montreal Canadiens, Buffalo had players at the net all night long.
It started with a 2-on-1 when Alex Tuch set up Jeff Skinner with both wingers charging the cage.
Zemgus Girgensons tipped in the next goal with him and Kyle Okposo in front of Senators goalie Anton Forsberg. I’m going to go through this, because this is exactly what Sabres head coach Don Granato has wanted.
Skinner banked one in off of Forsberg from just behind the goal line, but where was he? At the net.
Tuch and Tage Thompson were next, as both tipped in goals from right in front before the Sens finally found some momentum, scoring three goals in 3:22 late in the final period.
Buffalo played fast, and because of that, they were able to play well defensively, getting into transition and generating offense off the rush.
Ottawa was 1-for-5 on the power play, but a key part of this game was when Thompson went to the penalty box at the 0:27 mark of the second period, giving the Sens a 37-second two-man advantage. It was Jordan Greenway doing a terrific job of getting into the passing lane, clearing the puck out of danger.
Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was playing in his first game of the season and was stellar. Right off the bat, he was steady, moving well, and challenging the shooters. I understand he let in four goals, but once the Sens seized the momentum, there wasn't a goal I’d pin on him.
Related
After the game, Tuch talked about how poorly he had played and how he felt he had let his teammates and the fans down. Fans turned on him quickly after he was a hero last season, but no one will be harder on him than he is on himself.
Tuch was himself in this game, and even took on a challenge from Brady Tkachuk to fight. Tuch was cut pretty badly, but OK after the game.
Skinner now has five goals in seven games, and Rasmus Dahlin has seven assists to lead the team in scoring.
It’ll be interesting to see how this win will propel this team when they head to New Jersey to play the Devils on Friday. Jack Hughes has been red-hot with 14 points in five games.
Before Tuesday's game, the Senators signed their longtime goaltender and former Sabres goalie Craig Anderson to a one-day contract so he could retire with the team. It had to be a thrill for Luukkonen to go out to center ice and have Anderson drop the puck.
