Amadio's late goal lifts Senators over Sabres, ends Buffalo win streak

BUFFALO · The Ottawa Senators snapped a two-game skid with a 2-1 comeback win over the Buffalo Sabres on Wednesday. Michael Amadio scored the decisive goal on a one-timer with just over three minutes remaining in regulation. Shane Pinto also found the net for Ottawa, while Samuel Ersson stopped 24 shots. The victory halted Buffalo's three-game winning streak, with Colten Ellis making 28 saves in the loss.

Amadio credited his linemates for setting up the winner during an odd-man rush. "It was a great play by Timmy in the D-zone to poke it free, and then we had an odd-man rush," Amadio said. "Great delay play by (Fabian Zetterlund) to Timmy, and then Timmy made it pretty easy on me, gave me an open net there, so I was fortunate enough to put it in the back of the net." Tim Stutzle, who earned an assist on the play, praised Amadio's hockey sense. "Ammo's such a good player, such a smart player to just stop up there and give me a lane to give him a pass," Stutzle said. Peyton Krebs opened the scoring for Buffalo in the first period, deflecting a Tage Thompson shot past Ersson for his first goal of the season. Zach Benson collected the secondary assist on the play. The Sabres carried that 1-0 lead into the third period before Pinto tied the game midway through the final frame, batting in a rebound after Ellis denied Philip Tomasino.

Ottawa coach Travis Green was pleased with his team's response after recent struggles. "It was a great game. I thought we played a real complete 60-minute game," Green said. "Talked to our group tonight about playing our type of hockey where we check well and we play fast. I thought we did that to a T." Sabres coach Lindy Ruff offered a contrasting view of his team's performance. "I'm not gonna sit here and make excuses," Ruff said. "We weren't good enough. We got outworked. They won more puck battles, they created more odd-numbers of situations. They were smarter than us." Up next: The Senators host the Utah Mammoth on Saturday in the opener of a three-game homestand. The Sabres host the Columbus Blue Jackets on Friday in the second game of a four-game homestand.

With files from The Globe and Mail, Sportsnet and Yahoo Sports