At The Final Horn | Sabres unable to overcome slow start in Ottawa

Three goals allowed in 2:55 in the later stages of the first period put the game out of reach in the Buffalo Sabres' 5-0 loss to the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday.
Buffalo was unable to beat goaltender Matt Murray, who made 32 saves at Canadian Tire Centre.
Tyler Ennis recorded a hat trick for Ottawa, and Drake Batherson and Alex Formenton also scored.
Aaron Dell stopped 42 shots for the Sabres, tying the career-high effort he set in his last start on Thursday.
Shot attempts were 79-44 in Ottawa's favor.
Buffalo's power play finished the night 0-for-5 and the penalty kill was 3-for-4.

How it happened

Jeff Skinner thought he had scored on a rebound with 8:56 into the first, but the officials had blown the play dead before the puck crossed the line. Then the Senators' came alive.
With 4:07 left, Ennis put Ottawa on the board, coming in on the rush and potting a feed from Adam Gaudette.
Skinner took a slashing penalty on the next shift and Ottawa capitalized on the ensuing man advantage with 2:49 remaining when Batherson was credited with a goal.
With 1:12 left in the first, Ennis scored again to give the Senators a three-goal lead.
Then with 8:45 to go in the second period, Formenton finished a 2-on-1 play with Tim Stützle to make it 4-0.
Ennis completed the hat trick with 29.3 seconds left in the third.

Worthy of a mention

Casey Mittelstadt returned to the lineup after missing the past 16 games with an upper-body injury that required surgery. He has one goal in just five games this year, two of which he left early due to injury.
He skated 16:52 with one shot on goal Tuesday night.

Coming up

The Sabres will return home for a few days of practice before their next road trip. The first game of that journey will take place Saturday night against the Arizona Coyotes. Faceoff is scheduled for 9 p.m. on MSG and WGR 550. Pregame coverage begins at 8:30 on MSG.