At the Horn | Sabres 3 - Senators 2 (OT)

Noah Östlund scored the game-winning-goal 2:01 into overtime to complete the rally for the Buffalo Sabres, who topped the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at Canadian Tire Centre Thursday night.

With the victory in the extra frame, Buffalo remains perfect with a 4-0-0 mark to begin the 2024 preseason, while outscoring their opponents, 19-8.

Along with Östlund finding the back of the net for the first time this preseason, forwards Josh Dunne and Isak Rosén both scored for the Sabres. Goaltender Felix Sandstrom made 14 saves to record the win.

“I loved the way we played from the start,” said Michael Leone, who is head coach for the Sabres group that remains in North America. “We did a great job defending with sticks in our own zone, but we had the puck a lot. I think we smothered them. We were playing how we want to play. I thought we deserved to win and credit to the guys for keeping their composure down the stretch.”

How it happened

Period 1

Buffalo nearly broke through six minutes into the game on a power play sequence. Konsta Helenius swung a cross-ice pass to Isak Rosén who was standing in the left circle. Rosen found Mason Jobst in the slot, who fired a one-timer on net. Senators goaltender Linus Ullmark made a point blank pad save to keep the Sabres off the board.

Noah Gregor gave Ottawa a 1-0 lead 7:55 into the first. Gregor collected the puck from Carter Yakemchuk in the neutral zone for an odd man rush that finished with Gregor sending a wrist shot by the glove of Sandström.

Less than three minutes later, Dunne erased the deficit on a quick shot from the half wall that eluded Ullmark and tied the game at 1-1.

Later in the frame, Brendan Warren took a hit directly in front of the Sabres bench from Ottawa defenseman Donovan Sebrango, which prompted Dunne to challenge Sebrango by dropping the gloves. In addition to the fighting major, Sebrango was assessed a minor penalty for boarding.

“That’s what you want out of one of your teammates,” said Leone when talking about Dunne’s decision to fight. “He’s a selfless player. There was no doubt he was gonna stick up for his teammate. I think it gave us a lot of life on the bench, too. We’re lucky to have him.”

On the ensuing power play, Helenius rang a shot off the right post, and later, Zach Metsa was denied by Ullmark on a partial breakaway opportunity.

Despite heavily outshooting Ottawa 24-5 in the first period, the score remained 1-1.

Period 2

Dustin Tokarski, who is currently on a PTO with the Senators, took over in goal with 2:56 remaining in the second, ending Ullmark’s night with 30 saves on 31 shots.

The Sabres earned two more opportunities on the power play in the period, pushing their total on the night to six, but were unsuccessful in converting.

Period 3

Ottawa regained the lead midway through the third period. With Helenius in the box for interference, the Senators played the puck into the zone, eventually finding Adam Gaudette who was parked on the left side. His one-timer beat Sandstrom for a 2-1 lead with 8:14 to play.

With under a minute to play, and the Sabres net empty, Rosén launched a one-timer from the right face-off dot that blew by Tokarski and tied the game to send it to overtime.

Overtime

Two minutes into the extra frame, Ostulnd gained control of the puck in the Ottawa zone, skated down the left wing towards the goal line, cut to the front of the net, and tucked a backhand past Tokarski to give the Sabres a 3-2 overtime win. The Sabres would outshoot the Senators 41-16 through 61:16 of play.

“I tried to use my speed and be smart out there with all that open ice in overtime,” said Östlund. “I feel like a better player out there. Last year was very good for me and helped me with playing on the smaller ice. I feel better with every game.”

“It’s been coming for him,” said Leone when speaking on Östlund’s development. “We’ve been seeing this since rookie camp. He’s a winning hockey player. He has great habits and details and he does it right every day. That was an unbelievable play. He’s been really good these last two games. Credit to him. He’s been sticking with it. I’m really happy for him.”

Postgame Comments

Up next

The Sabres roster that traveled to Europe will kick-off the 2024 NHL Global Series on Friday with an exhibition game against EHC Red Bull München in Munich, Germany. Puck drop is scheduled for 2:30pm EST on MSG (Buffalo broadcast market) and NHL Network. Dan Dunleavy, Martin Biron, and Rob Ray will have the call on MSG and 1520AM.

Meanwhile, the group that remains in North America will head to Columbus for a matchup with the Blue Jackets on Saturday night at Nationwide Arena. Puck drop is scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sabres.com (Columbus feed with Blue Jackets commentators). Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray will have the radio call on WGR 550.