At the Horn: Senators 5 - Sabres 2

Linus Ullmark was helped off the ice with a lower-body injury midway through the third period on Tuesday in the Buffalo Sabres' 5-2 loss to the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center.
The Sabres goaltender had made 30 saves when he fell backwards awkwardly in the crease as the play went around the net with 9:32 remaining in the game. The officials stopped the clock and he was replaced in net by Carter Hutton, who made four saves in relief.
The Senators, who entered the game with the 31st-ranked power play in the NHL, went 3-for-4 with the man advantage to lift them to victory.

The Sabres power play went 1-for-4 on the night, including one opportunity with under 4 minutes to play in regulation. Hutton headed to the bench with about 40 seconds remaining on the power play, but the Senators scored on the empty net with 2:06 remaining. They then added another empty-net goal before the final horn sounded.
Sam Reinhart and Jack Eichel scored Buffalo's goals.

What happened

The Senators struck first when Jean-Gabriel Pageau redirected in a shot by Thomas Chabot 3:59 into the game with the man advantage.

Buffalo tied the game with 6:18 remaining in the first.
While on a power play of their own, Marcus Johansson got drilled into the end boards on the dump in, but his pressure forced Senators defenseman Ron Hainsey to throw the puck in front of the net, where Reinhart was able to grab it and cash in.
Ullmark made a point-blank save on Anthony Duclair with 25.3 seconds left in the period to preserve the tie heading into the first intermission.
The Senators took the lead again early in the second. Tyler Ennis scored Ottawa's second power-play goal of the game 4:52 into the period.
Buffalo responded quickly when Eichel pushed in a rebound for his 29th goal of the season at the 8:48 mark.
Thirty-three seconds into the third, Ullmark was tested again when Brady Tkachuk tipped a shot on goal while in tight, but the Sabres netminder was up to the task.
Ottawa scored the game-winning goal on the power play 8:43 into the third when Mike Reilly's shot made its way past a Brady Tkachuk screen and past Ullmark.

After going up 4-2 on Mike Borowiecki's shorthanded goal on the gaping cage, the Senators hit the post on the empty net twice during Buffalo's final push. Then Nikita Zaitsev buried a second empty netter with 5.3 seconds left.

What it means

The Sabres are now 22-21-7 through 50 games played. They're 14-7-3 at home.
Buffalo opened up a stretch in which nine of their next 10 games will be played at KeyBank Center.
Reinhart is now on a four-game point streak (3+3). He has totaled 22 points (9+13) in the Sabres' last 22 contests, including at least a point in eight of the last nine (6+5).
With his tally, Eichel set a new career-high in goals. He recorded 28 goals in 77 games last season.

Jeff Skinner returned to the lineup after missing the past 10 games due to an upper-body injury. He recorded one shot in 18:33.

Roll the highlight film

Here's Ullmark's aforementioned save on Duclair from the first period:

Up next

The homestand continues when the Sabres host the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday. Tickets are on sale now.
Buffalo is set to return to practice on Wednesday so stay tuned to Sabres.com for full practice coverage and any roster updates.