OTTAWA, ON — On a night meant to recognize excellence in netminding, the Buffalo Sabres’ 6-4 victory over the Ottawa Senators at the Canadian Tire Centre did anything but.
The evening began with a ceremony honouring former Senators goaltending great Craig Anderson — who signed a one-day contract earlier Tuesday to officially retire as part of the Ottawa franchise — and ended with a flurry of goals that brought the game total to 10.
Anderson, who now serves as a hockey liaison with the visiting Sabres, watched Buffalo cruise to a 5-1 lead after two periods before almost letting it slip away.
Jeff Skinner had two goals and Tage Thompson, Zemgus Girginsons, and Alex Tuch added singles as the Sabres chased Ottawa starter Anton Forsberg after two periods. Sabres goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukonen made 34 saves for the win.
Joonas Korpisalo came in to make six saves in the third on what should have been mop-up duty, but the Senators had other plans.
A furious rally in the dying minutes brought the score to 5-4 with 35 seconds remaining, but Thompson’s second goal — this one into an empty net — put an end to the contest and a forgettable night between the pipes.
Jakob Chychrun scored in the second period to make it 3-1 and give his team a brief pop of momentum, but it wasn’t until the final five minutes of the game that the Senators really put the pedal down.
Vladimir Tarasenko, Josh Norris and Mathieu Joseph all scored to put a scare into the Sabres, but that’s as close as they would get.
Senators coach D.J. Smith said he would have liked to have seen more from Forsberg, who was 2-0 with a .933 save percentage heading into this contest, but he was careful not to place all the blame at his goalie’s feet.
“I thought it was a weird one,” Smith said after. “I mean, every chance they had early went in. There were some tips there but we have to do a better job boxing out. Obviously, you want better tonight.”
Senators forward Claude Giroux elected to focus on the positive.
“As frustrating as it is, we have 76 games left,” he said. “It’s not time to hit the panic button, but it’s time to keep working on our game, keep finding ways to be consistent for 60 minutes, and if we do that we’re going to start winning hockey games.”
The Senators appeared to be headed for a truly disastrous night when Brady Tkachuk left the game late in the third period on what appeared to be a light, routine collision with Sabres centre Peyton Krebs.
Tkachuk was immediately distressed, however, throwing off his glove and sprinting off the ice and down the hall to the Senators’ locker room.
The Canadian Tire Centre crowd let out a sigh of relief when Tkachuk returned for the third period.
Smith said Tkachuk was “fine” and had a stinger on the elbow, but he may miss time regardless.
Tkachuk took an instigator penalty in the final five minutes of the game after he took exception to a hit by Tuch and thus faces the possibility of a suspension.
The Senators can appeal, however.
“I know what the rule is for — I don’t see that situation at all,” said Smith “I saw a guy that went out of his way to hit him dirty and he sticks up for himself, so the league will make that call and let us know.”
For their part, the Sabres were willing to look past the late-game fireworks.
“I thought we played simple,” Tuch said. “I thought we frustrated them throughout the whole game. I thought we capitalized on some opportunities, but we played really hard.
“I thought we came in with our game plan and we stuck to it. I know there was a little chaos in the end there, a couple penalties and power plays and stuff, but you know what, I thought (Luukkonen) played really well and it was a good team win.”
