Sabres score 8 goals, defeat Senators for 1st win

BUFFALO -- Jason Zucker, Ryan McLeod and Jack Quinn each scored twice, and the Buffalo Sabres won their first game of the season, 8-4 against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center on Wednesday.

Alex Tuch had a goal and an assist, and Josh Doan had three assists for the Sabres (1-3-0). Alex Lyon made 32 saves.

“I think we were a desperate group tonight, haven’t gotten the results we’ve wanted," McLeod said. "We haven’t really played the game we wanted, either, and I think tonight’s kind of a staple going forward for us that we should keep building on.”

Zach Benson had four assists in his season debut for Buffalo. The forward, who played 16:52, was hit in the face by a puck in practice on Oct. 8, which caused him to be hospitalized. He was discharged two days later and resumed skating on his own on Sunday.

“Getting Benson back was a big plus,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “I think we all saw that tonight what a difference that made for us.”

Jake Sanderson had a goal and an assist, Jordan Spence had three assists, and Leevi Merilainen made 19 saves for the Senators (1-3-0), who have allowed 18 goals in their past three games (all losses).

“It’s all little mistakes by all of us that just end up in the back of our net,” Ottawa defenseman Thomas Chabot said. “The positive thing is that we can fix it as a team and as a group. It’s frustrating right now, but as a group we’ve got to stay together ... and make sure that tomorrow night we’re ready to go (against the Seattle Kraken).”

McLeod tied it 2-2 with a short-handed goal at 6:46 of the second period. Benson's initial attempt was stopped by a scrambling Merilainen, but he quickly got the rebound across the ice to McLeod, who scored into an open net with a wrist shot from the left circle.

Tuch put the Sabres in front 3-2 at 10:17, cleaning up the rebound of Jacob Bryson's point shot in front.

Zucker then scored two power-play goals in a 1:57 span to extend the lead to 5-2.

Zucker's first goal came from the left circle off a pass from Rasmus Dahlin, who was along the goal line, at 11:46. He was then credited with his second goal at 13:43 after Doan’s initial shot hit the stick of Sanderson before deflecting into the net off Zucker's left arm.

"We got more pucks to the net, I think we had more guys around the net and I think we got a couple dirty goals that really helped us out," Zucker said. "I think special teams is a huge part of that too."

Shane Pinto cut it to 5-3 just 40 seconds into the third period, redirecting Spence’s shot through his own legs and over the left shoulder of Lyon.

Lars Eller pulled the Senators to within 5-4 at 2:15 after Nick Cousins stole the puck that Lyon had left for Dahlin along the goal line.

However, McLeod responded 17 seconds later to push it to 6-4. He skated into a drop pass from Tuch on a 2-on-2 rush and scored over Merilainen’s right arm from the left circle.

“We just got back to our game,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said. “There were probably two or three looser plays in the second period and they happen to go down and score. They get the short-handed goal, a bit of a lucky bounce, the first goal’s a lucky bounce, another power-play goal goes off two sticks and off a body. I like that we battled back, but then you give up a goal that you’d like to have back.”

Quinn scored 45 seconds after McLeod to make it 7-4. He took a pass from Peyton Krebs on a 2-on-1, cut back across the grain and slipped a backhand past Merilainen’s right pad.

Jiri Kulich added an empty-net goal at 16:44 for the 8-4 final.

"[The Senators] obviously play with a lot of speed and a lot of energy, so I think we did a good job of matching them," McLeod said. "Obviously, they had a little pushback. ... It's those key moments that you need to either get a puck in, get a puck out, or score one, and fortunately we did tonight."

Quinn gave Buffalo a 1-0 lead on the power play at 8:01 of the first period. His one-timer from the slot went wide of the net, but it ricocheted off the end glass and caromed back toward the crease, where it hit Merilainen in the back before crossing the goal line.

Tim Stutzle tied it 1-1 at 16:09 with a redirection of Fabian Zetterlund's one-timer from the point.

Sanderson gave the Senators a 2-1 lead at 3:58 of the second period, scoring a power-play goal following a scramble in the crease. Buffalo challenged the play for goaltender interference, but the call stood after a video review.

“We just kept playing,” Tuch said. “I think we just played with a lot more speed tonight. We were a lot more assertive, honestly. We were just trying to have fun out there. I thought everyone was smiling, hooting and hollering. A lot of energy. It was contagious. You feel it on the bench even when stuff was going wrong, guys were taking accountability and they were going out there trying to be better the next shift.”

NOTES: Senators forward Drake Batherson was minus-3 in 17:27 of ice time in his season debut. He missed the first three games while recovering from an upper-body injury he sustained during the first week of training camp. ... The Sabres have won five straight against the Senators, their longest active streak against a single opponent. ... Zucker is the 10th player in Sabres history to score two power-play goals in a span of two minutes or less. ... Buffalo scored four goals on special teams for the first time since March 31, 2018 (four power-play goals). ... Sabres forward Justin Danforth left the game at 2:45 of the second period with a lower-body injury.