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In the midst of a four-game losing streak, the Ottawa Senators were hopeful that the return of their captain in Daniel Alfredsson would help stop the bleeding at First Niagara Center on Friday night. Unfortunately, the Buffalo Sabres had other plans, dominating Ottawa from the get-go and winning by a final score of 5-1.
Friday night's tilt - at least from the Ottawa perspective - was one of those games over the course of an eighty-two regular season that you forget as soon as the final whistle blows. There was very little - if anything - to take away from this game. Lackluster effort, poor performances, and very little fluidity paved the way for a rout early, but kudos to Buffalo for capitalizing in this spot. The Sabres have had their own personal demons on home ice, so for the club, it was big to get a lopsided victory in their barn.
Ottawa's Craig Anderson made it through precisely 145 seconds before being yanked from the game in favor of Alex Auld. While I've blamed the defense for much of Anderson's early-season struggles, tonight was nothing of the sort. Anderson gave up two extremely soft rebounds, and both Derek Roy and Matt Ellis capitalized on Ottawa's door step to take an early two-goal lead.
Derek Roy finished the night with three points(1G/2A), as did Drew Stafford(0G/3A). Both were buzzing in the Ottawa offensive zone all night, but Roy's recent hot-streak in particular(eight points in four games) has to have Sabres fans in a frenzy.
The Senators would strike back on the power play via Sergei Gonchar's point-missile, but that was pretty much the lone bright spot of the night. Jordan Leopold moved the lead right back to two, and in the third period, both Luke Adam and Ville Leino beat Alex Auld for the team's fourth and fifth goals.
This was one of those games where a box score might not tell the whole story. Going strictly by shot totals, Ottawa out-shot Buffalo by a 37-21 margin, but anyone who watched the game knows that the large disparity in chances didn't really mean much of anything. Most of Ottawa's chances came from the perimeter and - aside from a Zack Smith rush short-handed - weren't of the scoring variety. Buffalo's 21, on the other hand, came from premium scoring areas, specifically right outside of Craig Anderson and Alex Auld's crease.
As bad as the win is for Ottawa, and as solid as a win this is for Buffalo, neither team has time to dwell. Ottawa's heading to the Air Canada Centre for another installment of the Battle of Ontario on Hockey Night in Canada. And, Buffalo's leaving their own barn for a Saturday night affair with the Boston Bruins at TD Garden. Northeast division hockey - gotta love it.
Back with more tomorrow.
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