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Spezza, Senators handle Sabres

Dec 17, 2006 - 6:30 AM BUFFALO, New York (Ticker) -- When Jason Spezza sees the Buffalo Sabres, both his eyes and the goal lamp light up.

Spezza scored two goals and added an assist as the Ottawa Senators posted a 3-1 victory over the Sabres.

Dany Heatley added a goal and two assists for Ottawa, which rebounded from a 6-0 trouncing at the hands of Nashville on Thursday.

"We were all disappointed in the way that game went," Heatley said. "Nobody played well, and we kind of hung (goaltender) Ray Emery out to dry. Tonight, we came out harder, special teams were good. I thought the PK did a great job and we got a couple power-play goals."

After helping set up Heatley's goal, Spezza scored on the power play with 2:31 left in the first period to give the Senators a 2-0 lead. His second tally came during a two-man advantage just 2 1/2 minutes into the third, putting Ottawa ahead, 3-1.

"I've been feeling pretty good," Spezza said. "Obviously, I'm playing with a little more confidence, trying to skate well, and it's working for me."

Spezza, who has 10 goals and 18 points in his last 12 games, extended his points streak against Buffalo to eight contests. During that stretch, the center has collected five tallies and eight assists.

Emery, who was pulled from Thursday's embarrassing loss after giving up six goals on 14 shots, was strong in this one, making 35 saves.

"We definitely took a shot to our pride in the loss to the Predators and wanted to come out and redeem ourselves tonight, and I think we did that," Emery said.

"Emery is a real good goaltender, and he played that way tonight," Senators coach Bryan Murray said. "He rebounded from the loss the other night to give us a chance to win the hockey game, which was great to see. He made the plays he had to make tonight in order for us to win."

The Senators also were helped by the return of Daniel Alfredsson. The Ottawa captain missed five games due to a hip injury, and the Senators were just 1-4-0 during that time. Before he was hurt, the Senators had won eight of nine games, with Alfredsson recording a point in each of the victories.

"When you put Alfredsson back in the lineup, it takes a little bit of pressure off of me and Heatley," Spezza said. "He helps the power play out a lot. The deeper we can be offensively, the more room it's going to give us."

Jochen Hecht scored and Ryan Miller turned aside 26 shots for the Sabres, who have lost three of the four meetings between the clubs this season.

"They're coming and they were prepared," Hecht said. "They had two players back in the lineup in Alfredsson and Peter Schaefer. Those are great players. It definitely helped them out. We put our effort in, just didn't get rewarded for it."

"We have to play the best game we can play against Buffalo and not give them any room," Heatley said.