Ottawa Senators left wing Brady Tkachuk (7) watches as his shot on Buffalo Sabres goaltender Eric Comrie (31) crosses the goal line and into the net during second period NHL hockey action in Ottawa, on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
OTTAWA – The Ottawa Senators snapped a five-game home losing streak with a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres Wednesday night.
Alex DeBrincat, Austin Watson, Brady Tkachuk and Tim Stutzle, with an empty-net goal, scored for the Senators (6-9-1). Anton Forsberg made 29 saves.
Eric Comrie started for the Sabres (7-10-0), but was unable to finish the game after stopping 22-of-24 shots. Craig Anderson, the longtime former Senators goaltender, came in midway through the second and finished with 14 saves. Tage Thompson scored the lone goal for the Sabres, who are now mired in a seven-game losing streak.
With a combined 14 minor penalties it was difficult for either team to generate any real momentum.
Trailing 2-1 to start the third, Buffalo pushed for the equalizer with JJ Peterka hitting the crossbar early in the period. However, DeBrincat made it 3-1 at 14:21 into the frame with his fifth of the season.
After going 0-for-5 on the man advantage in the first period, the Sabres finally capitalized on their sixth power play to tie the game 1-1. Thompson fired a bullet from the faceoff circle for his team-leading 12th of the season 6:41 into the second.
The Senators regained the lead just over three minutes later when Tkachuk put a backhanded shot past Comrie on the power play.
Moments before the goal, Comrie had a collision with Ottawa’s Mathieu Joseph. He remained in goal but was eventually replaced by Anderson.
Ottawa opened the scoring 9:45 into the first period with Watson scoring his 50th career goal.
INTERESTING FACT OR STAT
It was Craig Anderson’s first time back at Canadian Tire Centre since leaving as an unrestricted free agent in 2020. Anderson holds the Senators franchise record for most regular-season wins (202) and games played (435) by a goaltender.
NOTES: Ottawa defenceman Artem Zub practised in a regular jersey for the first time Wednesday since sustaining an upper body injury Oct. 27. Mark Kastelic was a healthy scratch and replaced with Dylan Gambrell. Claude Giroux is on a nine-game point streak (6G, 7A). Buffalo’s Tage Thompson is riding a six-game point streak (5G, 3A). Anders Bjork made his season debut for the Sabres.
UP NEXT
The Senators host the New Jersey Devils Saturday afternoon while the Sabres head to Toronto to take on the Maple Leafs Saturday night.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Nov. 16, 2022.
