After their 3-2 overtime loss on Tuesday night against the Detroit Red Wings, the Ottawa Senators' grueling nine-game road trip at last came to an end. Now, it's back home to Ottawa for one game against an old rival, the Buffalo Sabres.
The Senators ended their nine-game road trip going 4-4-1 and are currently 19-17-3 overall. Now, the time to avenge an early embarrassing loss against the Sabres awaits for the Senators.
Senators play Sabres in first home game of 2025
The Senators host the Sabres at Canaian Tire Centre with puck drop scheduled for 7 p.m. ET. Tonight is the second meeting this season between the two teams.
Tuesday night against the Red Wings was a pivotal game with the Eastern Conference standings tight. While the point was earned by the overtime loss, it wasn't the way the Senators wanted to conclude their road trip when Patrick Kane scored the overtime winner. With the loss, the Senators have now lost five of their last six games.
In the loss, Anton Forsberg made 30 saves, and Thomas Chabot and Brady Tkachuk scored the goals for the Senators.
As for the Sabres, they come into tonight's game with a 14-21-5 record. On Monday night in their most recent game, the Sabres snapped their three-game losing streak with a 4-3 shootout win against the Washington Capitals.
Tage Thompson leads the Sabres with 19 goals and 34 points. Rasmus Dahlin leads the Sabres with 23 assists. Jason Zucker and JJ Peterka are the only other 30-point scores for the Sabres.
In the first meeting this season on Nov. 5 in Buffalo, the Sabres crushed the Senators 5-1. After the Sabres led 2-1 after 40 minutes, the Sabres scored three goals in the third period to put the game out of reach. The first two goals of the third period for the Sabres were scored 37 seconds into the period, with the goals coming in a 16-second span. Peterka and Bowen Byram each scored two goals for the Sabres in the win. Ridly Greig scored the lone Senators goal.