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McAmmond, Gerber helps Senators edge Sabres

Jan 11, 2008 - 8:45 AM OTTAWA (Ticker) -- Dean McAmmond scored the decisive goal in the sixth round of the shootout and Martin Gerber came up with a big save on Jochen Hecht to give the Ottawa Senators a 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Thursday.

Mike Fisher also tallied in the shootout for Ottawa, which has won three straight against Buffalo and four of the five meetings between the clubs this campaign.

It was a rematch of last season's Eastern Conference finals, but at this juncture, only the Senators seem destined to return.

Captain Daniel Alfredsson and Shean Donovan added goals in regulation for the Senators, who managed to pull out the victory despite blowing a two-goal, third-period lead.

"They were probably playing a little more desperate than us, and they fought back hard," Alfredsson said. "Fortunately, we were able to get the win in the shootout."

Fisher scored the first goal in the fourth round of the bonus format. After the next two shooters were denied, McAmmond fired a high wrist shot that beat goaltender Jocelyn Thibault to the left side.

"He was cheating that way and I just shot it where he wasn't," McAmmond said.

Gerber, who stopped 22 shots, then made his biggest save by denying Hecht's shot with his left blocker to secure the win.

Buffalo, which has lost eight straight, rallied from a 2-0 deficit thanks to third-period goals by Clarke MacArthur and Daniel Paille.

"It's disappointing, but you can't fault the effort," Buffalo coach Lindy Ruff said of the team's fourth shootout loss during its skid. "We battled back and forced overtime. The loss doesn't look good and you can be disappointed, but if somebody told me before the game that we'd get a point out of this, I think we'd have taken it and run out of here."

MacArthur scored 98 seconds into the period and Paille forged a tie when he lifted a wrist shot from the left faceoff circle past Gerber with 7:08 to play in regulation.

Donovan got Ottawa on the board first when he scored his fifth tally of the campaign 24 seconds into the second period. Alfredsson doubled the lead when he faked a slap shot and wristed the puck high over the glove of Thibault with 2:52 left in the session.

"I looked up knowing we had a 3-on-2, and once I saw I had some room, I just decided to walk in and shoot it," Alfredsson said. "Fortunately, it was a good shot and it beat him."

Alfredsson, who extended his points streak to eight games, has been done plenty of damage against the Sabres of late. He recorded a goal and an assist against Buffalo on Friday and has seven points in five meetings this season.

Thibault stopped 23 shots for Buffalo, which has lost its last four shootouts.

"I felt good and I was happy with my game," Thibault said. "But the guys really fought hard to come back. I'm glad I could give them a chance to do that, and we got a point out of the game against a very good team."

The Senators now will turn their attention to their matchup with the league-leading Detroit Red Wings on Saturday night.

"We were pretty fortunate to win tonight," Senators coach John Paddock said. "If we play a giveaway game like that on Saturday against Detroit, we'll probably lose, 10-2."