BUFFALO, N.Y. (WIVB) — Visions of postseason hockey vanished here Wednesday night, well before the Sabres left the ice 6-2 losers against the Ottawa Senators at KeyBank Center.
Giving up three goals in the first six minutes, four before Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen was pulled barely halfway through the first, and a fifth by the end of the period, no response Buffalo could muster after that mattered.
Opening a last gasp homestand by snapping a three-win streak in their own barn, the defeated Sabres idle eight points out of playoff position with nine games remaining. Running the table now would get Buffalo to the 91-point plateau that wasn’t good enough a year ago, and with five teams to overtake in the standings, it’s all but inevitable that the longest postseason absence in NHL history will reach teenage at 13 seasons.
JJ Peterka took the team lead with his 25th goal, Connor Clifton scored his fourth, and Jacob Bryson tallied two assists as the Sabres outscored the Senators 2-1 over the final 40 minutes. Devon Levi stopped 33 of 34 shots after replacing Luukkonen (five saves on nine shots) at 8:49 into the first period.
UP NEXT
The Sabres continue their five-game run at home with a back-to-back set, Friday night against the New Jersey Devils, and Saturday night against the Toronto Maple Leafs.
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Jonah Bronstein joined the WIVB squad in 2022 as a digital sports reporter. The Buffalonian has covered the Bills, Sabres, Bandits, Bisons, colleges, high schools and other notable sporting events in Western New York since 2005, for publications including The Associated Press, The Buffalo News, and Niagara Gazette. Read more of his work here.