Senators-Sabres: Buffalo Stays Perfect In '09; Beats Ottawa 4-2

It wasn't pretty, but it sure beats losing.  The Sabres continued their improved play and remained undefeated in the New Year by winning their third straight game, defeating the Ottawa Senators 4-2.

In a marked change from their habits earlier in the season, the Sabres came out flying. Red-hot Matt Ellis (three goals in the last two games) scored on a nice feed from Paul Gaustad just 15 seconds after the puck dropped.  

The score remained 1-0 for most of the first period, but the Sabres seemed to be dominating play and keeping Ottawa's big Alfredsson-Spezza-Heatley line in check.

Late in the period, Vanek chipped the puck past the Ottawa defenseman to a streaking Derek Roy who drove deep in the zone before passing back to the onrushing Stafford. Stafford drove the net and guided the puck between Ottawa goalie Alex Auld's legs for a two-goal lead.

The Sabres kept working as the second period started.  Less than six minutes in, with four Sabres crashing the net, the puck bounced off Derek Roy's stick, hit his skate, then the Ottawa defenseman's skate before sliding into the net.  Amazing how good things happen when you get bodies in front of the opposing goal.

With a 3-0 lead, it seemed as though this might be one of those games that the Sabres could get far enough ahead that they could skate to an easy win.  Ottawa had beaten them four of the last five games.  Perhaps tonight the Sabres could break the trend convincingly.

But a minute and a half later, Jason Spezza fired a shot from the corner at the net.  Miller seemed to be tight against the post, but somehow the puck found a hole, dropped behind Miller, and the Senators were on the board.  

Thirty seconds later, Alfredsson stole the puck from a Sabre at his blue line, passed to Heatley, who hit Spezza as he broke behind the Sabres D.  Spezza fired the puck at Miller from close range and once again the puck seemed to squeeze through the Sabres goaltender.

The score was 3-2 and the Senators were fully engaged.  For the Sabres, it was gut-check time.  Getting a win tonight would not be a cakewalk.

Miller seemed shaken, and just a minute and a half later, when he failed to control a rebound on a long Ottawa shot, the Sabres Ellis had to hook an Ottawa player to prevent a scoring chance.

The Senators peppered the Buffalo net and out-shot the Sabres 13-11 for the period, but the score remained 3-2, Buffalo, at the second intermission.

In the third period, the Sabres resorted to the same defensive style they had employed in the third period against the Bruins in their previous win.  They rarely ventured into the Senators end, only forechecking one forward, and frequently peeling off to make a quick change and keep fresh legs on the ice.  

The result was that Ottawa out-shot the Sabres 11-4, but while Ottawa buzzed around the perimeter of the Buffalo zone, the Sabres did a good job of keeping most of the Ottawa shots to the perimeter and giving Miller a clear view.

As the period wound down and Ottawa was unable to get the equalizer, the Senators were forced to take more chances.  With just under two minutes to go, Vanek jumped on a loose puck and appeared to have a step, forcing Ottawa defenseman Alexander Picard to trip him.

Desperate, Ottawa still pulled their goalie to even the odds at five on five, but Spacek managed to control the Ottawa dump-in, and when Stafford hit Vanek, he was in the clear and able to skate the puck into the Ottawa net to secure the win.

This is a different Buffalo team than the one that couldn't seem to win a game at the end of December. Most importantly, they are working much harder.  Secondly, they are playing with much more discipline and have greatly reduced the number of giveaways caused by lazy backward passes and stupid play.

In fact, this really is a different team than the one that took the ice in late December.   Rookie call-up Chris Butler has played impressively on defense, going +5 in nine games, a marked improvement over Nathan Paetsch.  

Paul Gaustad has made a huge difference since his return four games ago, adding a physical presence to the forward line that was noticeably absent.  The aforementioned Matt Ellis has also been a factor.  And tonight Craig Rivet was back in the line-up after a 12 game absence, adding needed grit to the Sabres backline.

The arrival of another reinforcement, Tim Connolly, is expected this weekend.  Connolly has been brittle and injury prone, but when healthy, he adds a significant dimension to the Sabres attack, especially their power play.

If Connolly can stay in the lineup (a very big if) and the Sabres can keep playing with the same intensity, 2009 may be a Happy New Year.