The Buffalo Sabers no longer want to find themselves in the cellar in the Atlantic Division standings and they took extreme measures Tuesday to leave it.
They posted a 5-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators to join the Detroit Red Wings in sixth place with 11 points. They thus leave last place to the Montreal Canadiens who have 10 points after the overtime defeat against the Calgary Flames.
The Senators are far from being in a comfortable position with 12 points on their clock. However, they have one more game to play than the Sabers and CH.
Jordan Greenway set the tone for the clash with a solid check on Tim Stützle while he accepted a pass out of the zone. Sens captain Brady Tkachuk came to his teammate’s defense by engaging in a fight with Greenway.
JJ Peterka opened the scoring for the Sabers on a power play in the first period. Bowen Byram added to his team’s lead in the 17th second of the second period.
Ridly Greig brought the Senators within a goal midway through the period. On the sequence, Stützle and Tkachuk each obtained an assist.
The Sabers increased their lead in the third period, once again with an excellent start to the period. Byram flashed the red light for the second time in the match in the 21st second of play after returning from the locker room. Just 16 seconds later, Alex Tuch took advantage of Tage Thompson’s fall near goalie Linus Ullmark to direct the puck towards the net. The puck hit Thompson before entering the net to give his team a three-goal cushion.
Peterka came back at the height of the celebration with also his second goal of the match. He scored it on the power play, just like in the first period.
Tkachuk let his frustration out at the end of the match. He double-checked Dennis Gilbert at center ice and that was all it took for a melee to break out with the players on the ice. The Sens captain was shown the direction of the locker room with only two minutes remaining in the game.
Ukko-Pekka Luukonen stopped 37 pucks to help the Sabers stop their three-game losing streak. Ullmark gave up five times on 34 shots for the Senators.
Canada
