After dropping a 3-2 decision to the Red Wings, the Ottawa Senators rebounded Monday night with a 5-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres. Bobby Ryan scored three goals for his fourth career hat trick, and his first as a Senator. The Sens also managed to limit their shots against to a mere 21, though Craig Anderson was called upon to make some solid saves to keep the Sabres at bay.
GAME RECAP
The first period was dominant for the Sens as they outshot Buffalo 16-8. However, Sabres goalie Jhonas Enroth was a at times spectacular, including stoning Ryan in tight after he received a great feed from Erik Karlsson. Ottawa kept pressing though, and eventually Ryan did come through, scoring off his own rebound in tight at 18:24 of the first period.
The second period was less impressive for the Sens as Buffalo outshot them 11-10, and Ottawa didn’t even register a shot attempt until 3:19 into the frame. the Sabres jumped out to a 2-1 lead on goals from Mark Pysyk, the result of Erik Karlsson fanning on a stretch pass, and leading all-star game vote-getter Zemgus Girgensons before the period was half over. Give the Sens credit though as they rebounded nicely and eventually tied the game on Ryan’s second goal of the night off a impressive spin-o-rama feed from Mike Hoffman. Jean-Gabriel Pageau got the secondary assist on the play, his first point since being recalled, as Dave Cameron switched Mika Zibanejad out on the line in favour of the small centre.
The third period saw the Senators take the play to the Sabres, outshooting them 10-2. Ryan completed the hat trick 3:02 into the frame after Karlsson made a great pinch to keep the puck in the Sabres zone. At 11:54, Clarke MacArthur scored his second goal in as many games off a good feed from Chris Phillips, who returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch the previous two games. Colin Greening would add the insurance goal at 19:58 with an automatically awarded goal as he was hauled down while on a partial breakaway on the Sabres empty net.
GAME NOTES
Phillips Returns: Chris Phillips was solid as he drew back into the lineup, originally meant to take Patrick Wiercioch’s place but ended up taking Mark Borowiecki’s as the latter suffered an injury prior to the pregame skate. He notched an assist and a Corsi of 11 at even strength while playing 21:09 overall. The ice time is still a bit higher than Sens coach Dave Cameron may like, but sitting him a few games definitely seemed to be help Phillips’ overall play on the ice in this game.
Pageau Elevated: As noted earlier, Cameron opted to put Pageau with Ryan and Hoffman part way through the game over Zibanejad. Pageau’s speed and feistiness on the forecheck really seemed to help the line, as it allowed him to get the puck to Hoffman for the set-up on Ryan’s second period goal. Not that Zibanejad was bad by any stretch, but Pageau’s infectious energy was welcome, and it’s nice to see him get a better opportunity as he shows he belongs in the show.
Finally Managing Those Shots Against: It should be noted that the Sabres give up the most shots against per game in the entire NHL, 35.7, while also getting the fewest shots for, 23.7. Still, it was nice to see the Senators manage to outshoot an opponent by a wide margin of 35-21. The Senators were dominant for long stretches of the game, although they did have their difficulties in the middle frame. If Ottawa is serious about staying in the playoff race, Buffalo is a team they should be able to beat and control the play against, and they did just that last night.
The Senators’ next game isn’t until the new year when they’ll be in Boston to take on the Bruins. The game goes on Saturday, January 3rd at 1:00 PM. Thanks for reading, and enjoy your day.