At the Horn | Sabres 6 - Senators 4

Jeff Skinner found the back of the net twice to extend his goal-scoring streak to three games in a 6-4 win for the Buffalo Sabres over the Ottawa Senators inside Canadian Tire Centre on Tuesday.

Skinner was one of four Sabres who had multi-point games, along with Tage Thompson (2+1), Alex Tuch (1+1), and Casey Mittelstadt (0+2). Zemgus Girgensons also scored while Rasmus Dahlin tallied an assist to extend his point streak to six games, matching his career high.

Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made his season debut in goal and stopped 34 of 38 shots.

Thompson’s second goal – lofted into an empty net from his own zone with the Senators on a 6-on-4 advantage – iced the victory after Ottawa threated a comeback with three goals in the final 4:25.

Jakob Chychrun, Vladimir Tarasenko, Josh Norris, and Mathieu Joseph scored goals for the Senators. Anton Forsberg allowed five goals on 18 shots through two periods before giving way to Joonas Korpisalo, who made five saves.

GOAL SUMMARY

Period 1, 8:06 – Jeff Skinner from Alex Tuch and Casey Mittelstadt (1-0, BUF)

Mittelstadt forced a turnover near the Buffalo blue line, sending Tuch and Skinner down the ice on a 2-on-1 rush. Tuch delivered a no-look pass from right to left and Skinner buried a quick shot.

Period 1, 11:20 – Zemgus Girgensons from Connor Clifton and Kyle Okposo (2-0, BUF)

Okposo and Victor Olofsson combined to win the puck on the forecheck before sending it to Clifton at the opposite point. Girgensons tipped Clifton’s shot in the slot.

Period 2, 4:04 – Jeff Skinner from Dylan Cozens and Casey Mittelstadt (3-0, BUF)

Mittelstadt once again initiated the sequence by forcing a turnover, this time intercepting a pass in the offensive zone. He passed to Cozens, whose shot was stopped before Skinner sent the rebound off the back of Forsberg’s pad from beside the net.

Period 2, 13:14 – Jakob Chychrun from Travis Hamonic and Vladimir Tarasenko (3-1, BUF)

Hamonic sent a slap-shot that caromed off the post to Chychrun on the opposite side of the net.

Period 2, 17:08 (PP) – Alex Tuch from Rasmus Dahlin and Tage Thompson (4-1, BUF)

Tuch deflected a slap shot from Dahlin on the power play for his first goal of the season.

Period 2, 18:48 – Tage Thompson from Owen Power and Henri Jokiharju (5-1, BUF)

Thompson scored the third deflection of the night for the Sabres, parking in front of the crease and tipping a shot from the point by Power.

Period 3, 15:35 - Vladimir Tarasenko from Thomas Chabot and Mathieu Joseph (5-2, BUF)

Tarasenko buried a cleaned up a loose puck from traffic to ignite the Senators' comeback attempt.

Period 3, 18:38 (PP) - Josh Norris from Drake Batherson and Tim Stutzle (5-3, BUF)

Following a fight between Alex Tuch and Brady Tkachuk, Norris received a pass through the crease and scored at the back door to inch the Senators closer with 1:22 remaining. 

Period 3, 18:58 - Mathieu Joseph from Ridly Greig and Jake Sanderson (5-4, BUF)

The post-whistle physicality continued following Norris goal. This time, it was Dylan Cozens who came to the defense of Okposo after Tarasenko bumped the Sabres captain. The scrum resulted with both players receiving double minors, along with a 10-minute misconduct against Cozens.

Though plenty of real time had passed as officials sorted out the penalties, only 20 seconds in game time elapsed before Joseph cut to the net-front and buried a one-timer to bring Ottawa within one.

Period 3, 19:37 (SH, EN) - Tage Thompson, unassisted

The Senators were poised to complete the comeback after Girgensons was called for tripping with 36 seconds remaining. 

Instead, it was the Sabres penalty kill that came through once again. Thompson's goal - lofted through the air and into the empty net from behind his own blue line - completed a 4-for-5 night on the kill.

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The Sabres visit the New Jersey Devils at Prudential Center on Thursday. Coverage on MSG begins at 6:30 p.m. with faceoff scheduled for 7 on MSG/MSG+ and WGR 550.