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 Turris scored twice Tuesday to lead the Senators to a 3-1 win over
the Buffalo Sabres in the season opener for both teams. Cameron used
a critical coach's challenge -- taking advantage of a new rule -- to
preserve the victory.
The game's pivotal moment came with 9:26 remaining in the third
period. Sabres left winger Evander Kane jammed the puck into the
Senators net, but Ottawa challenged the goal. Goals can be
challenged this year due to a missed offside call or goaltender
interference; prior to the goal, Sabres center Zemgus Girgensons
entered the Ottawa zone before the puck.
The goal was overturned, and Ottawa held on for a victory.
"It's huge," Cameron said. "It's a goal that they scored that
doesn't count. That's huge."
The turn of events spoiled the much-anticipated debut of second
overall pick Jack Eichel, who scored the lone goal for the Sabres.
"That's hockey," Eichel said. "Things like that are going to happen.
There's a lot of momentum changes through a 60-minute game ... they
call it back so that's obviously a tough break. It's part of the new
rules, that challenge and I'm sure there will be a time when we'd
like to challenge a play."
Goalie Craig Anderson made 26 saves for the Senators, and right
winger Curtis Lazar added an empty-net goal.
The win gets the Senators off on the right foot after an incredible
run to make the playoffs last season. Ottawa finished last season
with a record of 23-4-4 in its last 31 games before clinching a
playoff spot in its regular season finale.
"A huge two points," Cameron said. "At the end of the year, they all
lay it up, they're always hard to come on the road. I thought it was
a big win for us."
The Sabres lost starting goalie Robin Lehner to a right leg injury
7:30 into the second period. Lehner appeared to injure the leg on a
routine save. He was spotted after the game with a cast on his right
leg and Sabres coach Dan Bylsma said the injury "doesn't look like
it's short-term."
"It's more than day to day at this point in time, and we need to
evaluate it further," Bylsma said.
Lehner was replaced by Chad Johnson, who stopped eight of the nine
shots he faced.
It didn't take very long for the Senators to quiet a boisterous home
crowd. Thirty seconds into the game, left winger Mike Hoffman found
Turris wide open in the slot, and Turris ripped a wrist shot to put
Ottawa up 1-0.
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Turris picked up his second goal following a turnover by Sabres
defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen behind the Buffalo net. Hoffman's pass
deflected off Sabres center David Legwand's skate to Turris, who was
sitting by himself at the top of the crease. Turris had an easy
finish to give Ottawa a 2-0 lead.
The Sabres began to show some life in the third period. Eichel got
the Sabres on the board with a power-play goal 9:11 into the third.
The 18-year-old former Boston University star lifted a wrist shot
from the left circle into the top of the net to a deafening ovation.
"It's a pretty special moment for me," Eichel said. "I'll remember
that for the rest of my life. ... A win definitely would have capped
the day off perfectly but I guess you can't have it all."
Buffalo had momentum on its side when Kane looked to have scored
1:23 later, but it was unable to recover from the disallowed goal.
"It goes against us, but I think it's worked great," Bylsma said of
the coach's challenge. "We saw one last night in the
Toronto-Montreal game, we see the one tonight. This was offside, and
it shouldn't have been a goal."
NOTES: Sabres captain Brian Gionta missed the game with a lower-body
injury. The right winger is considered day-to-day, according to
coach Dan Bylsma, and should not be out for an extended period of
time. ... D Jake McCabe and D Matt Donovan were scratched for
Buffalo. ... LW Shane Prince and D Chris Wideman were scratched for
Ottawa. ... The next meeting between the two teams is Jan. 26 in
Ottawa. ... This was the third time in franchise history that the
Sabres opened the season against the Senators. Both of the previous
games (1995-96 and 2010-11) were Buffalo wins in Ottawa. ... Ottawa
won last year's season series against the Sabres with a record of
4-0-1.
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