Buffalo Sabres goalie Robin Lehner stops Ottawa Senators forward Matt Duchene during the second period in Buffalo, N.Y., on Dec. 12, 2017.Jeffrey T. Barnes/The Globe and Mail
Evander Kane, Kyle Okposo and Benoit Pouliot scored in the second period, leading the Buffalo Sabres to a 3-2 victory over the sliding Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
Rasmus Ristolainen had two assists as Buffalo extended its season-best point streak to four games at 2-0-2. Robin Lehner made 24 saves against his former team.
Cody Ceci and Derick Brassard scored for the Senators, who have lost six in a row. Mike Condon stopped 22 shots.
Ottawa dropped to 1-10-2 in its last 13 games.
The Sabres scored all three of their goals in an 8:20 span.
Kane made it 3-0 with his 14th of the season on a power play with 7:27 left in the second. Ristolainen fed Kane for a one-timer from the slot.
Lehner was bidding for a shutout before Ceci scored off a rebound of his own shot 6:43 into the third. Brassard made it 3-2 in the final minute after the Senators pulled Condon for an extra skater, but the Sabres held on.
Pouliot put Buffalo in front to stay when he skated past Dion Phaneuf and Brassard and slipped a backhand around Ceci's stick and between Condon's pads for his eighth goal of the season 4:13 into the second.
The Sabres scored again just 72 seconds later. Ryan O'Reilly set up Okposo with a backhand pass from behind the net. Okposo has five goals on the year.
The Senators were unable to score on a second-period power play lasting 3:01, including 59 seconds with a 5-on-3 advantage.
NOTES: Kane has a point in five straight games. ... Senators F Bobby Ryan went to the dressing room late in the third period after taking a hit from Buffalo's Jordan Nolan. ... Senators D Frederik Claesson returned to the lineup after he was a healthy scratch the past three games. ... Sabres D Nathan Beaulieu (illness) and C Jacob Josefson (ankle) skated on Tuesday and are nearing returns. ... Buffalo has earned a point in nine straight meetings (7-0-2) with Ottawa.
UP NEXT
Senators: Host the New York Rangers on Wednesday.
Sabres: Visit Philadelphia on Thursday.