Buffalo, N.Y. (WGR 550/WBEN) - A two-goal night by Tage Thompson helped pace the Buffalo Sabres to a 5-3 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo opened the scoring thanks to their first power play chance of the game.
Owen Power started a rush from his own zone, feeding Dylan Cozens just inside the blue line. JJ Peterka used a pass from Cozens to record his 13th goal of the season just as Mark Kastelic came out of the penalty box.
The Senators were able to even the score at 1-1 later in the opening period thanks, in part, to a screen in front of Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen. Vladimir Tarasenko was credited with his ninth goal of the year when his shot from the point went into the net.
Thompson went coast-to-coast late in the first period to create his 13th goal of the season and give Buffalo another lead over the Senators.
Rasmus Dahlin was credited with the lone assist on the even strength goal that came against Senators goalie Joonas Korpisalo. It was the first shot faced by the goalie after taking over for Anton Forsberg, who left with a groin injury and did not return.
Thompson scored his second goal of the period minutes later on the power play to give the Sabres a 3-1 lead after a period. The forward's second goal in just over two minutes came while Dominik Kubalik was in the penalty box for tripping.
The Sabres used a penalty kill early in the second period to gain momentum against Ottawa, leading to another goal for the black and red.
This time, Peyton Krebs finished off a give-and-go chance with Eric Robinson for his third goal of the season. The goal extended Buffalo's lead to 4-1.
Claude Giroux scored a pair of goals for the Senators to bring the team back to within a goal in the third period.
The veteran's first goal of the third narrowed Ottawa's deficit to 4-2 and came less than a minute into the period. Giroux's second goal came off of a turnover in the Sabres' zone and brought the Senators to within one, 4-3.
Buffalo was able to preserve the lead and defeat Ottawa in the end.
Cozens added his second point of the night with an empty net goal with just over two seconds remaining in regulation. The goal was Cozens' seventh of the season, and was unassisted at the end of the game.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: 9:14 - JJ Peterka (13) (Dylan Cozens, Owen Power); 17:28 - Tage Thompson (13) (Rasmus Dahlin); 19:32 - Tage Thompson (14) PPG (Rasmus Dahlin, Jack Quinn)
OTT: 15:06 - Vladimir Tarasenko (9) (Unassisted)
Second Period:
BUF: 4:52 - Peyton Krebs (3) (Eric Robinson)
OTT: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 19:57 - Dylan Cozens (7) ENG (Unassisted)
OTT: 0:43 - Claude Giroux (11) (Ridly Greig); 11:15 - Claude Giroux (12) (Unassisted)
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Losi & Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Tage Thompson - BUF
2.) Claude Giroux - OTT
3.) Dylan Cozens - BUF
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What's next:
The Sabres will host their third-straight home game on Saturday afternoon, as they welcome the Vancouver Canucks to KeyBank Center for a 4 p.m. EST faceoff. Pregame coverage on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550 - begins at 3 p.m. EST with Brian Koziol.