Austin Watson redirected the puck in the net for the tiebreaking goal with 9:11 left, and the visiting Ottawa Senators rallied for a 3-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday night.
In a sloppy game that featured poor passing, a bevy of turnovers and 11 penalties over the first two periods, Ottawa overcame a 1-0 hole to improve to 8-4-2 on the road since Dec. 2.
The Senators got the better of the pressure through the first half of the final period, and they were rewarded when Nick Holden (two assists) drove the puck from the point. It found Watson’s stick amid traffic in front of the net, then banked in off the post for the eventual winner.
Zach Sanford posted his eighth goal, Brady Tkachuk added an empty-netter and Anton Forsberg made 23 saves for the Senators, who have won two of three against the Sabres this season.
Craig Anderson, the longtime Senator and that club’s all-time leader with 202 victories, stopped 25 shots for Buffalo on Thursday. It marked the first time Anderson had faced Ottawa, where he spent parts of 10 seasons, since leaving as an unrestricted free agent in October 2020.
Buffalo opened the scoring with 6:23 left in the opening period, scoring a power-play goal in its third straight contest. Rasmus Asplund’s cross-ice pass found Kyle Okposo on the far blue line, where the veteran skated in alone and beat Forsberg for his 11th goal of the season and third in his last four games.
That, however, was the only goal in six power-play chances mustered by the Sabres on the night.
The Senators tied it with 3:56 left in the second period. Off a Buffalo turnover, Ottawa’s Tyler Ennis threw a backhanded pass at the net, where Sanford corralled the puck, made a nifty move in front of the net and got the best of Anderson.
Buffalo, which recorded five points from its previous three contests, was trying to win three consecutive games for the first time since opening this season 3-0-0.
–Field Level Media
