The Ottawa Senators remain in good shape to finally solve the puzzle of making the NHL playoffs. But they certainly had no solution for the Buffalo Sabres this season.
The Sabres defeated the Senators 5-2 on Tuesday night to sweep the season series, outscoring the Sens 17-5, and taking all eight points in the process.
Speaking of dominance, veteran Buffalo goalie James Reimer stopped 33 shots and improved to 19-6-4 against the Senators. No goalie in NHL history has a better record against Ottawa.
Linus Ullmark gave up four goals on 21 shots. Claude Giroux and Jake Sanderson scored for the Senators, who, despite a six minute flurry of chances in the third, were never really in this one.
Buffalo jumped out to an early 2-0 lead in the first, with goals from Alex Tuch and Rasmus Dahlin. They extended their lead in the second, capitalizing on some atrocious Ottawa defending. They had great view of Tage Thompson making it 3-0 after a perfect give-and-go with JJ Peterka.
However, just over a minute later, Claude Giroux got Ottawa on the board after a nice solo rush and a pass from Tyler Kleven.
In the third, Senators newcomer Dylan Cozens inadvertently provided a lovely parting gift to his old team, putting an errant pass right onto the stick of Peyton Krebs. Krebs capitalized on the mistake, scoring on the ensuing breakaway to restore Buffalo's three-goal lead.
Jake Sanderson responded shortly after, cutting the deficit to 4-2. After that, the Senators put together a strong push for five or six minutes, but Reimer wasn’t having any of it.
With the Sens on a 6-on-4 late in the game, Ryan McLeod sealed Buffalo's win with an empty-netter.
The Senators played this one without Brady Tkachuk, who’s out with an upper-body injury suffered Sunday in Pittsburgh. It was a particularly rough night for Drake Batherson who was a minus 5 on the evening.
The loss was costly, as the Montreal Canadiens defeated the Florida Panthers 3-2 in overtime on Tuesday, cutting the Sens’ lead to five points with eight games to play. The Columbus Blue Jackets are now the best of the non-playoff teams in the East. They won 8-4 over the Nashville Predators and stand seven points behind Ottawa.
Things don't get any easier for the Sens. Their next game is Thursday night at home against the Tampa Bay Lightning. Then it's a visit from Florida Saturday, followed by a home and home with Columbus starting Sunday in Ottawa.