Tough offensive night in Ottawa delays Sabres’ playoff clinch

OTTAWA, Ontario – Clinching the playoffs will have to wait, as the Buffalo Sabres lost 4-1 to the Ottawa Senators on Thursday at Canadian Tire Centre.

Tied 1-1 after 40 minutes, the Sabres had their first chance to officially secure a postseason berth, but Lars Eller scored the eventual game winner for Ottawa with 14:05 remaining. The Senators, who are the thick of the wild card race, added two late empty netters to end any hope of a comeback and move into playoff position, themselves.

“They took over the game, last two periods,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “I thought they outskated, they outcompeted. Their desperation level was just higher than ours, it’s simple as that.”

Ottawa was without several key defensemen and also lost Tyler Kleven to a first-period injury. With that in mind, Ruff explained, Buffalo hoped to take advantage of the Senators’ five remaining blueliners, two of which are recent AHL call-ups.

“I think we got a little stubborn,” said forward Jason Zucker. “I don’t think we did a good enough job getting pucks behind them and really pressing their D.”

It was a low-event game in both directions, especially early, as the teams combined for just 10 shots in a scoreless first period. Buffalo had consecutive power plays – Tage Thompson drilled the post on the second one – but couldn’t cash in.

“I don’t think we shot the puck enough,” Zucker said of those man advantages. “I think we had a couple good looks, but ultimately, on any power play in the NHL, you can pass the puck around the outside for two minutes and look really good. You don’t stress their D, you don’t manipulate their defensemen and their forwards, put them in tough spots, get pucks on the net, you’re not going to score.”

Mattias Samuelsson finally broke through in the second period to get the Sabres on the board. Off a Thompson faceoff win, the defenseman tossed a shot from up high and beat Linus Ullmark for his first goal in a month.

But a few minutes later, Ottawa’s Dylan Cozens drove to the net and redirected a pass through Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, tying it 1-1. Bowen Byram was denied on a point-blank one-timer in the final moments of the second, then Eller broke the tie in the third.

The Sabres were visibly frustrated with some non-calls – Jack Quinn and Peyton Krebs were taken down in the Ottawa zone – while pushing for an equalizer. Overall, though, they feel they didn’t win enough battles or manage the puck well enough to beat a depleted, yet defensively strong Senators team.

While still on the cusp of a playoff berth, possibly clinching as soon as Saturday, Buffalo left the Canadian capital unhappy with its effort.

“Energy was super high; obviously, we know the stakes with a win,” Samuelsson said. “Disappointing, for sure, but obviously not the end of the road for us, where we’re standing. Just have to get back to work and put on a better performance in two days.

“I don’t think we have any panic in our room,” added Zucker, “but we have some stuff that we need to have a little bit more urgency towards.”

Here’s more from the loss.

UPL gets another start

Luukkonen finished with 20 saves on 22 shots, the two goals both coming on tough deflections. When Buffalo trailed 2-1 and misplayed a puck in the neutral zone, he denied Claude Giroux on a breakaway to keep the game within reach.

This is the second time all season Luukkonen has started three consecutive games; he also did so in late November. Alex Lyon was again the backup on Thursday instead of Colten Ellis.

“The rotation has been working good,” Luukkonen said. “Al has played some amazing hockey. I’ve been feeling good with my game, too, so whatever their call is, I’m happy to play as much as I can.

Stanley vs. Tkachuk

Logan Stanley dropped the gloves with Brady Tkachuk in the first period, getting some good punches in on the Ottawa captain. They had history from a Senators-Jets game back in January, and Tkachuk (from the bench) had also slashed Beck Malenstyn in the face earlier in Thursday’s first period.

Dunne back in

With Sam Carrick (left arm) out week to week, Josh Dunne slotted back in for his first game since March 5. Dunne skated 7:17, registered two hits and went 4-for-7 on faceoffs.

The fourth line may see some mixing-and-matching over these last six games of the regular season. That Dunne has gone 53.4 percent at the dot should earn him some continued opportunities in Carrick’s absence.

Postgame sound

Up next

The Sabres visit the Washington Capitals on Saturday at 7 p.m., with MSG’s pregame coverage starting at 6:30.

Stay tuned to Sabres.com for Saturday’s full clinching scenarios.