*Photo from ABC News*
The progress made at the end of last season is making itself shown again. JJ Peterka scored, Victor Olofsson had a two goal game, and the Buffalo Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators with a 4-1 victory on Thursday night in Buffalo.
The Sabres saw positive results and progress made at the end of last season. That same progress and promise appeared again, scoring 4 unanswered goals after falling behind early. Leading the way offensively were Olofsson, with two 3rd period goals, and Peterka, who scored his first NHL goal.
Sabres head coach Don Granato said of Peterka's goal "That was really nice to see. The competition elevated, the competitive puck battles elevated, and I thought he was very determined in puck battles and showed a lot of strength. Once he won a battle through that, he opened up and saw lots of options and plays. The goal was outstanding. I thought he had a burst of speed to match Cozens, who we know has incredible acceleration. The two of them together on the goal they went from fourth to fifth gear and it was too much for the opposition. JJ put it in the back of the net immediately, as a goal-scorer does."
Ottawa got themselves to an early lead, taking a 1-0 advantage when Brady Tkachuk scored his first goal of the season 10:16 into the game, assisted by Drake Batherson and Erik Brannstrom. 4:31 into the middle period, Peterka scored to tie the game, assisted by Dylan Cozens. The Sabres took a 2-1 lead after two periods thanks to Rasmus Dahlin's first goal of the year.
Most of the 3rd period went scoreless on both sides, until the Senators pulled the goalie late. With 42 seconds left to play, Olofsson converted on an empty net goal to make the lead 3-1. With 27 seconds left on the clock, Olofsson did it again, scoring his second empty netter of the night to make the final score 4-1 in favor of the Sabres.
Getting the start for the Sabres was former Senators goalie Craig Anderson. He picked up the opening night win, stopping all but one of the 36 shots on goal the Senators sent at him, posting a sparkling .972 save percentage in the win.
Anderson said of facing his old team that "It was always fun back before I played there. And then now it's kind of fun as well. It's always fun to win hockey games regardless of what sweater you're playing against."
Starting in net for Ottawa was Anton Forsberg, coming off a strong 2021-2022 campaign. Forsberg took the loss on opening night, turning aside 32 out of the 34 shots on goal the Sabres had, recording a .941 save percentage.
Senators head coach DJ Smith said of the loss that "I thought we had a weak probably three minutes there in the second period where they got a couple on us. We had plenty of chances, we had breakaways, we had 2-on-0, 2-on-1s, and we just didn't put it in the back of the net tonight."
Up next, the Sabres get back in action on Saturday afternoon against the Florida Panthers, with Anderson likely to get the start. The Senators face the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night, with Forsberg the probable starter.
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