Ottawa Senators dominate Buffalo Sabres 4-1 in Kyle Turris debut -NHL Update
Kyle Turris showed off some skills in debut with his new team, so did the Ottawa Senators who dominated the Buffalo Sabres, 4-1, on Tuesday night, December 20, 2011, at the sold out Scotiabank Place in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada.
It is the first time the 22-year-old rookie is playing a game with another team besides the Phoenix Coyotes, who picked him up as the third overall selection during the first-round of the 2007 National Hockey League (NHL) Entry Draft.
Being back in his home country of Canada, Turris hopes that he will be able to have a breakthrough season since he really has not made much of an impact since joining the league a few seasons back.
"It's a great result," said Turris, who was acquired from Phoenix on Saturday. "It felt great -- it was really exciting coming in, and I started to feel better as the game went on and get my legs under me. I can (still) be a lot better. It felt really good
(to hear the crowd). I'd like to thank everybody for the support. It felt like home."
Zack Smith made the opening goal, 11:48 into the first period off an assist by Chris Neil and Matt Carkner whole Erik Condra was booked nearly two minutes later, giving the Buffalo Sabres their first chance to capitalise on the power play opportunity but
failing to as the Senators were having an adrenaline rush.
Jordan Leopold managed to keep Buffalo alive with his sixth of the 2011-2012 NHL regular season while taking advantage of the added man chance but the Sabres certainly could not have anticipated what was about to have in the third and final period.
Kyle Turris gave Erik Condra his first goal of the night while Erik Karlsson added the second straight on a power play with Paul Gaustad booked for roughing and Condra adding his second of the night on a play by Karlsson with less than two minutes to go.
"We knew this was a must-win game for us," Ottawa's Jason Spezza said. "We knew they had some injuries and we did a good job capitalizing."
Ottawa has two wins in a row now and will definitely be looking for a third against the Florida Panthers on Thursday while Sabres head out to Toronto on the same day to face the Maple Leafs.
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