Senators 4, Sabres 3
BUFFALO -- Kyle Turris' overtime blast gave the Ottawa Senators a 4-3 victory over the Buffalo Sabres Saturday at the First Niagara Center.
With Buffalo's Christian Ehrhoff serving a two-minute interference penalty, the Senators took advantage on the power play when Turris' strike from inside the left circle beat Sabres goalie Ryan Miller 3:54 into overtime.
It was the second goal of the game for Turris, who also scored in the second period.
It capped a back-and-forth day for the Senators, who rallied from a two-goal deficit in the second period but saw their lead slip away on a weak wrist shot with just under eight minutes to go in regulation.
Chris Phillips and Patrick Wiercioch also scored for the Senators, who improved to 14-8-6. Ben Bishop, starting in place of injured goalie Craig Anderson, had 32 saves.
Drew Stafford had two goals and Mike Weber also scored for the Sabres, who fell to 10-14-4. Miller had 30 saves for Buffalo.
Stafford tied the game at 3-3 at 12:06 of the third period on a far wrist shot to Bishop's left. The goalie misplayed the shot, which led to Stafford's fourth goal of the season.
Turris' impressive one-man effort gave Ottawa its first lead of the game with 1:03 left in the second. Turris raced around the Buffalo net and beat Miller on a wrap-around effort for his sixth goal of the season.
Ottawa tied the game at 2-2 just before the midway point of the second period. After a clean faceoff win from the Buffalo zone, Chris Phillips' slap shot from the right point was saved by Miller but deflected off Sabres defenseman Jordan Leopold into the net at 10:14 of the second.
Patrick Wiercioch's slap shot from just behind the left circle began Ottawa's comeback 4:03 into the second period after a flurry of offensive pressure from the Senators.
The Sabres jumped out to a 2-0 lead after one of their better periods of the season.
Mike Weber opened the scoring at 8:52 of the first period on his first goal of the year. Weber's wrist shot from the point found a way through with traffic in front of the Ottawa net. It was the defenseman's first goal in 50 games; he last scored on Jan. 21, 2012 against St. Louis.
Stafford made it 2-0 with 4:44 left in the first period. After Nathan Gerbe's wrist shot was stopped by Bishop, Stafford found the loose puck in the crease and backhanded it home for his third of the year.
Notes: Sabres forward Ville Leino played in his first game of the season after missing Buffalo's first 27 games with a hip injury. A high-priced free-agent addition last year, Leino struggled in his first season with the Sabres, picking up 25 points (eight goals, 17 assists) in 71 games. To make room for Leino, the Sabres sent rookie Mikhail Grigorenko back to his junior team, the Quebec Remparts, on Friday. ... Sabres center Tyler Ennis (head) returned to the lineup after missing one game. ... Kaspars Daugavins was scratched for the Senators. John Scott and Patrick Kaleta (suspension) were scratched for the Sabres. ... The Senators continue to be without goalie Craig Anderson (ankle), forward Jason Spezza (back) and defenseman Erik Karlsson (Achilles). ... This was the 115th game all-time between Buffalo and Ottawa. Heading into Saturday afternoon's game, the Sabres led the series with a 56-42-16 record.
