2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series – Buffalo Sabres win 2-1 against the Ottawa Senators
The 10th game of the 2010 Compuware NHL Premiere Series
took place this Friday in the Scotiabank Place, home of the Ottawa Senators. The match saw the Ottawa Senators host the Buffalo Sabres with both teams playing their 1st game of the season. An attendance of 20,000 fans was present to witness the encounter
that saw the Buffalo Sabres emerge victorious despite of the disadvantage of playing away from home.
1st Period
The home team was the stronger of the two teams in the beginning of the match coming up with regular goal scoring opportunities. The Ottawa Senators were robust on the offence as well as in the defence cutting down any plays that might be goal threatening.
The Buffalo Sabres were slow out of the blocks but as the period progressed, the Sabres were able to get into the flow and started to take on the Ottawa Senators defence. The passing, shooting and skills that both teams displayed were an amazing sight. What
was disappointing was the fact that neither of the teams had the finishing touch.
The main reason for the period being goalless thus far was that the defences of both teams put in excellent tackles at the crucial stages. A goal was bound to be scored since both teams were working really hard.
The Buffalo Sabres were the team that was rewarded in the 9th minute, when they took the lead. The goal was scored by Derek Roy who scored from 11 feet through a spectacular backhand. The rest of the period provided the Ottawa Senators with chances
but they weren’t able to convert them into goals.
As the teams went into the break, the Ottawa Senators made 9 unsuccessful goal attempts, whereas, the Buffalo Sabres made 13 goal attempts and scored once.
2nd Period
The 2nd period saw the Buffalo Sabres totally dominate the proceeding from the start. As soon as the period began, the Buffalo Sabres fired a shot that just went wide of the goal.
The Buffalo Sabres were able to stomp their authority and displayed excellent abilities in the department of offence and defence. The defence of the Buffalo Sabres was splendid throughout the period except for the last 2 minutes. They were able to stop long
passes regularly and the Ottawa Senators weren’t able to take the puck deep into the opposition’s half.
The Buffalo Sabres started to make more goal attempts to establish a lead that would put them in a comfortable position. This was not to be as the Buffalo Sabres didn’t score in the period. The Ottawa Senators could only wait for the Buffalo Sabres to make
a mistake which they did in the last minute of the period giving them the opportunity. The Ottawa Senators grabbed the opportunity and scored through Chris Kelly from 8 feet.
Though the Buffalo Sabres made 16 goal attempts, they weren’t able to score in the period. On the contrary, the Ottawa Senators made just 3 goal attempts but scored once to level the match at 1-1.
3rd Period
The 3rd period saw the home team Buffalo Sabres dominate with the scores level and the fans backing them.
The fans urged them to score and make goal attempts which they did. But to their disappointment, when they pressed in search of a goal they were caught on a counter attack and the Buffalo Sabres scored in the 11th minute of the period. The goal
was scored by Derek Roy, who bagged his second for the match and put the Buffalo Sabres in the lead.
The match ended with the score 2-1 in favour of the Buffalo Sabres. During the period, the Buffalo Sabres scored once out of the 7 goal attempts, whereas, the Ottawa Senators couldn’t score making 14 goal attempts. Derek Roy was named the 1st
star selection of the match, as he scored 2 goals in the match.
"It's more satisfying to get the two points and deny them a point, a divisional opponent," Roy said. "We wanted to come out and make a statement, come out real strong, and I thought we did that. We missed a few chances in the first period, but at the end
of the night we got the win and I think everyone in here is happy."
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