Buffalo Sabres overcome the Ottawa Senators 3-2
Shaone Morrisonn lit the lamp in overtime to guide the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators at Scotiabank Place on Tuesday.
Paul Byron and Jochen Hecht also netted goals for the Sabres, who have won four of their previous five contests. Thomas Vanek earned two assists, while Ryan Miller turned aside 27 shots in the win.
Chris Kelly and Sergei Gonchar both tallied goals for Ottawa, who have lost for the 12th time in their last 13 play-offs. Brian Elliott finished with 23 saves in the losing effort.
A Sabres turnover in their own zone resulted in a 2-on-1 for Ottawa just four and a half minutes into the opening period. Kelly controlled the puck as he rushed in from the right circle. Buffalo defenseman Tyler Myers anticipated a pass, and dropped to one
knee to block the lane, but that gave Kelly a chance to cut to the net and tip the puck in.
Paul Byron, playing in his second National Hockey League (NHL) game, pulled the Sabres even at 1-1 midway through the first period as he converted a pass from Tyler Ennis.
Hecht then completed the comeback for the Sabres, and gave them a 2-1 advantage with nearly four minutes to play in the first frame. On the rush, his innocent-looking backhand from the right circle went through Elliott’s pads.
Ottawa tied the game again at 2-2 on a power-play tally with six minutes left in the final session. The goal came from Gonchar, who slammed a shot from the right point at the net and Ottawa forward Nick Foligno knocked down Miller, who did not get an opportunity
to stop it.
Ryan Miller and coach Lindy Ruff were irate at Gonchar’s score, believing that Foligno interfered with the goalie in the crease. However, Foligno wasn’t too concerned about the comments. He said, “They can say all they want, it was just a battle in front.
We’ve been searching for that game tier for awhile, so it was nice to get that. It’s unfortunate we didn’t get the win.”
However, Gonchar's tally stood regardless of the protests from Miller and the rest of the Buffalo players, ending a 0-for-27 stretch for Ottawa and giving the crowd something to cheer about.
Gonchar said after the game, “I felt we played well throughout the game, we had a chance to get the two points. The effort was there. We competed hard. If we keep playing like that, it will come.”
In overtime, Morrisonn received a feed from Jason Pominville from the right corner and banged it toward the net. Elliott stopped the initial shot, but Morrisonn continued to drive the net and buried his own rebound between Elliott’s pads to seal a 3-2 win.
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