Sabres build on road trip with home victory over Sens

For the last week, fans had to watch from afar as the Buffalo Sabres navigated a three-game road trip during which they came away with four out of a possible six points, having won once and lost twice in overtime. The improvements were modest, but they were something for the team to build upon nonetheless.
The Sabres did just that upon returning home on Tuesday. Benoit Pouliot, Kyle Okposo and Evander Kane scored goals in the second period while Robin Lehner made 24 saves as the Sabres took advantage of a struggling Ottawa Senators team for a 3-2 victory.
With the win, the Sabres have earned points in four straight games (2-0-2) for the first time this season. It was a welcome sight for the KeyBank Center crowd, which was finally given a chance to shower the team with cheers as players left the ice.

"We needed this win here tonight, not only for our fans but the guys inside that room," Sabres coach Phil Housley said. "It was really important we got this one tonight. It's a divisional game, been a heated rivalry, some good physical play on our part. It was good to see we could get a win for our fans."

Housley was pleased with the way the Sabres started the game, although it hadn't translated into much offense at the end of one period. The two teams combined for just 11 shots in the first, with the Sabres holding a 6-5 advantage.
Buffalo's focus entering the second period was to play the same for the most part, but with more of a shot mentality. That mindset translated into a pair of goals, from Pouliot and Okposo, which came just 1:12 apart early in the period.
Pouliot's goal was the product of a strong individual effort, one that saw the forward carry the puck from end-to-end, split a pair of Ottawa defenders upon entering the offensive zone and slip a backhand shot between the pads of goalie Mike Condon.

"I kind of picked my head up their at the last second and saw [Ottawa defenseman Dion Phaneuf] stepping up so he kind of surprised me a little bit and I thought he was going to put a check on me," Pouliot said. "I just snuck by him, luckily, and things went well after that."
Okposo's goal stemmed from a give-and-go play with Ryan O'Reilly down low. Okposo fed O'Reilly behind the net and cut toward the slot, where O'Reilly was able to find him with a pass that squeezed between three Ottawa sticks. Zemgus Girgensons set the screen on Okposo's quick shot.

"I just tried to get it down to [O'Reilly]," Okposo said. "I thought that they had a couple guys who kind of turned their backs and started facing the puck, and Ryan made a heck of a pass. He's such a skilled player to be able to make plays like that. All I had to do was fire it in because Zemgus had a great screen in front."
The Sabres were aided by a 3-for-3 night on the penalty kill, including 59 seconds at 5-on-3 in the second period. That kill protected their two-goal lead and kept momentum in their favor, opening the door for Kane to score on the power play less than two minutes later.
"That was huge," Pouliot, who took the first of two penalties leading to the 5-on-3, said. "I think that's what gave us the big boost, too. It's not always the power play that's going to get you the momentum. I think when you get a good kill, a big kill like that, especially 5-on-3, the boys get up, the boys rally and the boys feel good. That was huge for us."
Kane scored on a one-time shot from the right faceoff circle. Rasmus Ristolainen wound up as if he were going to shoot from the point prior making a quick pass to Kane, a play the defenseman said they've been working on in practice. The feed gave Ristolainen his second assist of the night.

As it turned out, Kane's goal would stand as the game winner. Cody Ceci put the Senators on the board early in the third, and while the Sabres held a 10-7 advantage in the period, Housley felt that their mistakes through the neutral zone opened the door for Derick Brassard to bring Ottawa within one with 51.4 seconds remaining.
Even so, Lehner made some key saves at the end to complete yet another strong outing in net - Housley called him the team's best penalty killer in the game - and the Sabres found a way to nail down a victory.
With a four-game point streak finally showing some signs of progress, Okposo said the important thing now is to not take any win for granted. If the team continues to put work in, sticks with their preparation and focuses on execution, they'll give fans more reasons to cheer going forward.
"We had some big hits, we had some big goals, big penalty kills," Okposo said. "The fans, obviously, they're starving for a winner here. We want to make sure that we're giving them 100-percent effort every night and if we do that, we're going to have some success on home ice."

Eight for Pouliot

Pouliot's goal was his eighth in 31 games this season, already matching the total he posted in 67 games with the Edmonton Oilers last season. He's admitted in the past that his final campaign in Edmonton was a trying one, but said he's been happy in Buffalo thus far.
"I've felt pretty good," he said. "There's a few games that I've been off. Obviously things haven't been consistent as I'd like but I just show up at the rink and try to play hard and play good and help the team as much as I can. The guys that I play with help a lot too and being in different situations helps so it's nice."

More success for the power play

With Kane's goal, the Sabres have scored on the power play in three straight games after going scoreless in 10 games prior. Housley credited the team for their mental fortitude, both in rebounding from that difficult stretch and from an unsuccessful power play in the first period on Tuesday.
"I mean, you look at the rut we were in early, a power-play goal probably gets us three or four more wins, but it didn't," Housley said. " … They stuck with it and that shows some good mental toughness on their part because [when] it goes that way you can go in a different direction. I'll give a hand to them, they stuck with it."

Up next

The Sabres will hit the road again to play the Philadelphia Flyers at Wells Fargo Center on Thursday night. Coverage on MSG-B begins at 6:30 p.m. with the GMC Pregame Show, or you can listen live on WGR 550. Puck drop is set for 7 p.m.