Thompson scores go-ahead goal in 3rd period, lifts Sabres past Senators 

BUFFALO -- Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal early in the third period to lift the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 win against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center on Tuesday.

Thompson’s 35th goal of the season put the Sabres in front 3-2 at 1:23 of the third. Zach Benson won a battle behind the net before sending a backhand pass to Thompson, who snuck it under Anton Forsberg’s right arm from alone in front.

“We were chasing the puck in that first 10, 15 minutes. That last four or five minutes got us going, and then I thought it was a hard game after that,” Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said. "We had some opportunities to probably open it up. … It was a game we needed some good saves, we got them. And at the same time, I thought we played a great third period.”

Jacob Bernard-Docker scored his first goal with Buffalo, and James Reimer made 30 saves for the Sabres (29-35-6), who are 4-2-0 in their past six games.

The win was Ruff's 600th as coach of the Sabres in his 1,234th game with the team. He’s the second coach in NHL history to reach the mark with a single team, joining Al Arbour, who did it with the New York Islanders.

“I really wasn’t aware of it but obviously feels good,” said Ruff, who is in his second stint as Sabres coach. “I mean, just to get the win tonight felt good. How hard we battled, really after the first period. I’ve been fortunate. A lot of good people around me that have helped throughout the years, and coaches, unbelievable fan support here in this building.”

Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored for the Senators (37-28-5), who have lost three of four after winning six of seven (6-0-1). Forsberg made 21 saves.

Ottawa remained four points ahead of the Montreal Canadiens for the first wild card into the Stanley Cup Playoffs from the Eastern Conference.

“We weren’t consistent enough in the game to be successful for the whole game,” Perron said. “There were a few plays that we let go of, and they found a way to score. We had some good effort, some good plays but not enough to get a win.”

Tkachuk gave the Senators a 1-0 lead on the power play at 1:35 of the first period. Dylan Cozens got the puck along the left-side boards and sent a centering pass to Drake Batherson in the slot, who slipped a between-the-legs pass to Tkachuk for a tap in at the right post.

“I really wanted to win that game,” said Cozens, who was traded from the Sabres to the Senators on March 7. “I think we had it at the start. We were in control and we just kind of let them back in it. We should have just kept pushing. And I think ‘Reims’ made a lot of big saves early on. And we got a bury a few of those.”

Jack Quinn tied it 1-1 at 18:31 with a one-timer from the left circle off a cross-slot pass from JJ Peterka.

Perron put the Senators ahead 2-1 at 7:39 of the second period when he collected a loose puck at the bottom of the left circle and roofed it on the power play.

“Tonight you're frustrated,” Ottawa coach Travis Green said of not scoring 5-on-5. “We needed another goal. The first 14 minutes we probably could have had three goals, so it's frustrating, especially losing at this time of year. It's easy to say, probably might easily win this game seven times out of 10. We [need to] be harder around their net.”

Bernard-Docker, who was involved in the trade that sent Cozens to Ottawa, tied it 2-2 at 12:59 with a wrist shot from above the right circle through traffic that beat Forsberg blocker side.

“It felt pretty good, I'm not going to lie,” he said. “But I think we were on our heels a bit there in the first period and I think the boys did a good job responding after that.”

The 24-year-old defenseman has three points (one goal, two assists) in three games since making his Sabres debut Saturday, his first game since sustaining a lower-body injury in January.

“It feels just unreal to be on the ice, honestly,” Bernard-Docker said. “I've had a tough year kind of prior to this, kind of just grinding and lots of skates by myself and work in the gym. It feels good to be back into games so yeah, it's fun.”

NOTES: Cozens has eight points (three goals, five assists) in nine games with the Senators. … Buffalo forward Jiri Kulich played 17:00 and had two shots on goal in his return after missing four games because of a concussion.