Sabres look to snap road skid at Ottawa

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While the Ottawa Senators have a chance to continue some modest home success Tuesday, the Buffalo Sabres again will try to end their longest road slide in four seasons.

The Senators will look to equal a season high with their third straight home victory and hand the Sabres a 13th consecutive road defeat.

Though Ottawa's 58 points are the fewest in the league and the club's season has been filled with drama and disappointment, the Senators are playing the better hockey at the moment. Rookie Brady Tkachuk scored his 19th goal of the season 2:09 into overtime to give the Senators a 4-3 overtime win at Edmonton on Saturday.

The victory salvaged a 1-2-0 trip for Ottawa, which has won three of five overall following a 1-10-1 stretch.

"(The win) was really satisfying," coach Marc Crawford told the Senators' official website. "You need success in order to keep the guys focused in on doing the right things."

Ottawa can focus on taking three in a row at home for just the second time in 2018-19. The other such run came Oct. 13-20.

Tkachuk, 19, scored twice Saturday, and has recorded five goals over the past eight games. Meanwhile, teammate Craig Anderson made 26 saves against the Oilers to snap an 0-13-1 slide for his first victory since Dec. 17.

"It's been a long time coming," said Anderson, who posted a 3.63 goals-against average during his winless rut. "Personally, it's been a tough stretch."

Anderson owns a 4.05 goals-against average in two meetings this season against Buffalo -- three days apart in November. He made 46 saves in a 4-2 home victory over the Sabres on Nov. 1 but was pulled after yielding seven goals in the first period of a 9-2 defeat at Buffalo two days later.

Buffalo last won on the road on Jan. 29, at Columbus. The Sabres' road skid sits at 0-10-2 following a 3-1 loss at New Jersey on Monday. It's the club's longest road losing streak since an 0-13-1 stretch during the 2014-15 campaign.

The Sabres threw 46 shots at the Devils' Cory Schneider, but only Sam Reinhart's 20th, amazingly from center ice in the first period, cleared the goal line. Buffalo has been held to two or fewer goals seven times during a 1-9-1 overall span.

"I thought we played the right way (Monday), but that doesn't make it any less frustrating," said Reinhart, who has a goal in two straight games after going 11 in a row without one.

Reinhart could have had another against the Devils, but his apparent equalizer with roughly 13 1/2 minutes left in regulation was overturned due to goaltender interference. Sabres goalie Linus Ullmark, meanwhile, stopped 18 shots Monday while losing his fifth consecutive start.

Carter Hutton could be back in the Buffalo net Tuesday after making 37 saves in a 7-4 loss at Montreal on Saturday. Hutton has a 3.50 goals-against average while going 0-4-2 over his last seven road starts. He stopped 28 shots at Ottawa in November.

Buffalo's Jason Pominville has gone seven straight games without a point, but he has recorded three goals and an assist versus Ottawa this season.

--Field Level Media