Early in the second period of Wednesday’s game, the Buffalo Sabres faced challenges against the Ottawa Senators. Three consecutive icings led to a long shift for defensemen Rasmus Dahlin and Bowen Byram, resulting in a penalty and a go-ahead goal for Ottawa. An unsuccessful challenge for goaltender interference put Ottawa back on the power play.
The Sabres responded strongly in the next ten minutes, turning the game around and energizing the KeyBank Center crowd. Buffalo ultimately secured an 8-4 victory, marking their first win of the season.
At 6:46 in the second period, Senators goalie Leevi Merilainen failed to control a dump-in from Owen Power and a rebound from Zach Benson. Benson retrieved his own shot and set up Ryan McLeod for a shorthanded goal that tied the game.
“To kill it, and then end up getting a shorthanded goal, I thought we showed a lot of life; we showed a lot of passion,” coach Lindy Ruff said. “… I think we fed off the energy; the building came to life.”
At 10:17, Josh Doan’s forechecking led to a shot by Jacob Bryson. Alex Tuch scored on the rebound to give Buffalo a 3-2 lead. At 11:46, Jason Zucker scored a power-play goal after receiving a pass from Dahlin. At 13:43, Zucker scored again, tipping in a shot-pass from Doan.
“He’s on the puck, he’s fearless, made some good plays; we’ve seen a lot of good things out of him,” Ruff said of Doan. “I thought tonight might’ve been his best night.”
Nine different Sabres recorded a point during this stretch. After scoring only three goals in their first ten periods of the season, Buffalo’s offense improved significantly.
Ottawa scored twice early in the third period, narrowing Buffalo’s lead to 5-4. Ruff called a timeout with 17:45 remaining. His instructions were clear: calm down, make plays, and extend the lead. The Sabres responded immediately, with McLeod scoring his second goal just 17 seconds later. Jack Quinn added another goal less than a minute afterward.
“We have the lead still, let’s just make some plays,” McLeod said about the timeout discussion. “Been there before; we’ve got to get confident in these areas and get comfortable with it, and I think that’s what we did.”
The Sabres had entered the game winless in their first three matches and were missing several key players due to injury. The performance against Ottawa provided optimism for the team’s potential.
“I think we just played with a lot more speed tonight,” Tuch said. “We were a lot more assertive, honestly. We were just trying to have fun out there. I thought everyone was smiling, hooting and hollering. A lot of energy. It was contagious. You could feel it on the bench: even when stuff was going wrong, guys were taking accountability, and they were going out there trying to be better the next shift. No one was perfect out there tonight, but I thought we were all working for each other, and that’s what makes it easy.”
Added McLeod: “I think tonight’s kind of a staple going forward for us that we should keep building on.”
Buffalo’s power play had struggled at the start of the season but found success in this game. After going 0-for-11 previously, they scored their first power-play goal when Jack Quinn’s shot bounced off the end boards and into the net via Merilainen’s back.
“It’s a shooter’s goal, ask Quinny,” Tuch joked.
“That, at that time, was the break we needed,” Ruff added.
Zucker contributed two power-play goals in the second period. With three power-play goals on fourteen attempts (21.4 percent) so far this season, Buffalo’s power play now ranks in the top half of the league.
Zach Benson returned to the lineup after being hospitalized from a puck to the face during practice last week. Wearing a protective face shield, Benson played 16:52 and recorded four assists—a new single-game career high for the 20-year-old.
“Getting Benson back was a big plus,” Ruff said. “I think we all saw that tonight, what a difference it made for us.”
“He was itching, he was ready, he was excited,” Tuch said of Benson. “I thought he had a really good game, turning pucks over. Really tenacious out there.”
Justin Danforth left the game early in the second period with a lower-body injury after blocking a shot and did not return.
The Sabres’ next game is scheduled for Saturday at 1 p.m., when they will face the two-time defending champion Florida Panthers.
