Michael Amadio scored to break a late third-period deadlock and the visiting Ottawa Senators claimed a 2-1 comeback victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday.
Shane Pinto also scored for Ottawa, which ended a tough five-game road trip on a high note thanks to a pair of unanswered goals in the third. Goaltender Sam Ersson made 24 saves.
Peyton Krebs scored for the Sabres, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Goalie Colten Ellis stopped 28 shots.
With overtime looming, Fabian Zetterlund led a rush up ice and dropped the puck for Tim Stutzle inside the offensive zone. Stutzle sent a cross-ice feed that Amadio converted with a top-corner one-timer with 3:09 remaining.
The Sabres had a frantic push for the equalizer, but couldn’t convert any of their chances.
The Senators return to Ottawa for a three-game homestand after a 2-2-1 trip.
Buffalo, which kicked off a five-game homestand, squandered a huge opportunity to close ground on Ottawa in the Atlantic Division standings.
Despite the pace from the drop of the puck, it took until the 14-minute mark of the second for the first goal. The Sabres had sustained offensive-zone pressure and were rewarded when Tage Thompson’s long shot ricocheted off Krebs’ legs and into the net for his first goal of the season.
The Senators found another gear from that point and finally pulled even at 11:33 of the third. Shortly after an offensive-zone faceoff win, Pinto cashed in a rebound to tie the score.
Both teams finished 0-for-2 on power-play opportunities.
Ottawa is off until Saturday when the Utah Mammoth come to town, while Buffalo returns to action Friday against the visiting Columbus Blue Jackets.