NHL Game Summary - Ottawa at Buffalo
(Wednesday, December 26th)
Final Score: Ottawa 5, Buffalo 3
Buffalo, NY (Sports Network) - Dany Heatley had a goal and two assists, and
Martin Gerber made 29 saves as Ottawa held off Buffalo, 5-3, ending the
Sabres' six-game winning streak.
Wade Redden had a goal and a helper for the Senators, who have won eight of
their last 10 games. Antoine Vermette, Mike Fisher and Daniel Alfredsson also
tallied in the victory. Jason Spezza added two assists.
Jochen Hecht, Brian Campbell and Adam Mair all scored for Buffalo, which had
been riding its longest win streak since opening last season with 10 straight
victories.
"We were on a good roll, we had won six games in a row," said Mair. "Tonight
we wanted to keep that going. We have a tough stretch here, most of January
we're on the road.
"I thought when we skate well we're able to keep up with that team (the
Senators). They have a couple of injuries on the back end. We can play with
any team in this league."
Ryan Miller made 19 saves and Tim Connolly had two helpers in defeat.
Both sides played to a scoreless first period, with the Sens holding a slight
edge in shots, 10-9.
Ottawa then broke the stalemate early in the second when Vermette backhanded
the puck past Miller from the high slot. The disc tore a path through traffic
and beat the netminder under the glove to the far side at 1:42.
The Sabres answered right back, as Hecht had a weak wrister dribble between
the pads of Gerber less than two minutes later.
Redden's power-play tally put the Sens up 2-1 a little past the eight-minute
mark, while Fisher then tapped home a loose puck from the top of the crease
with 1:51 left to boost Ottawa to a two-goal edge.
The Senators continued to pour it on, as Alfredsson lit the lamp just 26
seconds into the third period, making it a 4-1 game.
On the power play, Campbell ripped a shot from the point that sailed under the
crossbar, helping the Sabres cut the margin to 4-2, while Mair made it a one-
goal game when he took a pass at the mid-slot and sent it through the five-
hole of Gerber with 7:37 left in the contest.
Ottawa's defense buckled down the rest of the way, limiting Buffalo's pressure
in the final minutes before Heatley added an empty-net goal with 0.5 seconds
remaining.
"With these two teams' history, we really respect each other," said Heatley.
"It doesn't matter who's going good or how the past couple weeks have been
going, whether they're hot or not we know it's going to be a tough game."
Game Notes
Redden's goal was the 100th of his NHL career...Spezza assisted on Redden's
marker and has 10 goals and 21 helpers in his last 17 games...Campbell
scored his first goal in 24 games for Buffalo...The Sabres fell to 11-7-0
at home this season...Ottawa improved to 13-3-2 as the visiting
team...Ottawa holds a 3-2 edge in the season series. The Sens have also
taken seven of the last 10 meetings overall.
12/26 22:44:49 ET
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