Buffalo Sabres vs. Ottawa Senators Game Recap
BUFFALO, NY (Oct. 8, 2015) – It took all of 30 seconds. All the excitement and anticipation since the final horn of the 2014-15 season about the new-look Sabres was sucked out of the First Niagara Center.
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Ottawa’s Kyle Turris took a feed in the slot from Mike Hoffman and made no mistake, rifling the shot past Robin Lehner’s glove. His body language told the entire story of what just happened. Are you kidding me? Nevertheless, the Sabres got the jitters out and put up six shots to the Senators seven.
The puck dropped for the second period and the Sabres were starting to really get outplayed. As the halfway point approached, Robin Lehner got caught on the side of the net when getting back to his paint and injured his left leg. Initial reaction looks like a left groin or upper leg issue. With Lehner leaving his first start as a Sabre, Chad Johnson entered the game for his first action in a Sabre uniform. Another concern was the Sabres only had two shots with over half the period gone and they were not creating a lot of offense.
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After a couple chances down at the offensive end, Rasmus Ristolainen turned over the puck trying to wrap it around the boards to Mark Stone. His pass to Hoffmann was sent to Turris on the back door where he had a layup for his second goal. The Sabres finished the second period stronger, but were still facing an uphill battle trailing two after 40 minutes of play.
Almost halfway through the third period, David Legwand forced a hooking penalty and on the powerplay, the #2 overall draft pick this past year, Jack Eichel, rounded the net to find himself getting a pass from Marcus Foligno to set up his first of many NHL goals. The First Niagara Center erupted and some were still out of their seats when it looked like Evander Kane tied the game at two.
On a wraparound, Kane’s second effort beat Craig Anderson’s outstretched pad, but after a challenge from Ottawa, replays showed Zemgus Girgensons was offside by a half an inch.
After the no goal call, the energy at the First Niagara Center was electric. Anytime a Sabre had the puck on their stick, fans were on the edge of their seats. With three minutes left, a point shot from Rasmus Ristolainen rang off the right post. The goal horn came on and fans were already pounding on the glass, but the game remained 2-1.
The Sabres were outshot Ottawa 14-4 in the third, but there would be no late night heroics in Buffalo tonight. The Senators would add an empty net goal, handing the Sabres their first loss of the season. Buffalo returns to action Saturday as they host the defending Eastern Conference Champion Tampa Bay Lightning at 1 p.m.
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