In Ottawa, the Buffalo Sabres scored twice in the third period to snap a 1-1 tie and defeat the Senators, 3-1, on Tuesday night.
Michael Houser made 43 saves in the Buffalo win; it was his season debut with the Sabres.
“It’s fun to see the boys so happy, not only for me but for a win,” Houser said. “I think we’ve been playing pretty well, at least since I’ve been here. I’ve watched quite a bit of the games from Rochester (of the American Hockey League), and the team is playing so much better than last year and the beginning of this year too. You can see the team getting better. To be a part of it and to get a win for the boys, it feels really good.”
Drake Batherson had the Ottawa goal.
“We did a lot of great things,” Senators head coach D.J. Smith said. “We had probably the most chances that I can remember. Their goalie was really good, and we gave up a weak one in the first.”
Ottawa fell to 11-19-2.
Dylan Cozens gave the Sabres a 1-0 lead in the first period; Batherson tied in the middle frame off the power play.
“I was pumped,” Houser said. “Any time you can seal it with an empty-netter and run out the last 40 seconds with a two-goal lead, I like our chances. It’s much better than them buzzing around 6-on-5, [and] us only up a goal. It was more fun to play that last 40 seconds after [Tuch] buried that.”
Buffalo improved to 12-20-7.
“You know, some goaltenders, when there’s a breakdown in front of them, they give up a goal and they put their arms in the air like the guys in front of them had a breakdown and that’s why the goal went in,” Sabres head coach Don Granato said. “And then there’s other goaltenders that, when there’s a breakdown in front of them, they welcome it. They say, ‘This is why I’m a goaltender. I want shots. I want opportunities.’ And Michael is that type of personality.”
Mark Jankowski and Alex Tuch scored in the third period.
“I was forechecking, so I didn’t really see what was going on until I turned up ice and saw the whole thing at the bench there,” Jankowski said. “[Ottawa’s defensemen] were kind of gliding up the ice a bit and I didn’t hear the [referees] blow a whistle, so I was like, I’m going to see if I can get this puck. I lifted [Brown’s] stick and took the puck and got lucky that they didn’t blow the whistle.”
Tuch iced the win with an empty-net strike.
Anton Forsberg made 29 saves in the Sens loss.
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