Monday's 4-1 loss to the Nashville Predators was the Ottawa Senators' second consecutive loss in a three-day span. It was then time to head back on the road for a game against the Buffalo Sabres, and debut the new "Ignite the Red" alternate jersey despite being on the road.
The Senators were excited to see Drake Batherson return to the lineup, but had brutal news dealt yesterday with Brady Tkachuk out for a significant amount of time. The Senators were eager to turn their luck around against the Sabres after being swept in the four-game season series last season, but it wouldn't happen in a wacky game.
The Sabres defeated the Senators 8-4 at KeyBank Center. With the loss, the Senators fell to 1-3-0 on the season, and dropped their third consecutive game. The Sabres also earned their fifth consecutive win against the Senators.
Heading into Buffalo, frustration was beyond with the Sabres and their fans with the team being 0-3-0 to start the season. However, Wednesday night became a trap game for the Senators.
In the first period, each team traded a goal with Jack Quinn and Tim Stutzle scoring a goal. Jordan Spence recorded his first point as a Senator with recording the secondary assist on Stutzle's goal. At 3:58 of the second period, Jake Sanderson scored a powerplay goal to make it 2-1.
At 3:58 of the second period, Jake Sanderson scored a powerplay goal to give the Senators a 2-1 lead. The Senators appeared to have momentum on their side with Sanderson scoring and another powerplay awaiting after Buffalo's challenge was unsuccessful on the goal. Then, Buffalo's penalty kill ignited a much spark.
Ryan McLeod scored a shorthanded goal after the unsuccessful challenge to tie the game 2-2. Then in a span of 3:26, the Sabres scored three goals to take a 5-2 lead. Two of the goals for Buffalo were Jason Zucker powerplay goals. Four goals were scored in the second period against Leevi Merilainen on 20 Buffalo shots on goal.
In the third period, it seemed momentum was back on Ottawa's side when Shane Pinto and Lars Eller each scored a goal in a span of 1:35 to make it a 5-4 game. Sabres head coach Lindy Ruff called a timeout which turned out to get momentum back on Buffalo's side.
Seventeen seconds after Eller's goal to make it 5-4, McLeod scored his second goal of the game to make it 6-4. Then, Quinn scored his second goal of the game 45 seconds later to make it 7-4. Buffalo added an empty-net goal in the final minutes of regulation to ice the game completely.
While Spence recording a three-assist game was a bright spot along with Eller scoring his first goal as a Senator, Merilainen disappointed deeply in his first start of the 2025-26 season with allowing in seven goals. Merilainen has allowed in 18 goals combined in his final two preseason starts and tonight's start against the Sabres. Prior to tonight, the Sabres had scored just two goals all season, they scored eight against the Senators.
The Senators will have a quick turnaround with a showdown against the Seattle Kraken tomorrow night at Canadian Tire Centre with a 7 p.m. ET puck drop. Last season, the Senators won both of their games against the Kraken with each win being a 3-0 shutout. One was by Anton Forsberg and the other was by Linus Ullmark.