Bowen Byram delivered the winner in overtime as the Buffalo Sabres kept rolling Tuesday night, edging the Ottawa Senators 3-2 at Canadian Tire Centre to extend their win streak to seven.
Byram led the way with two goals and an assist, recording his second career three-point performance. Noah Ostlund also found the net, while Alex Lyon turned aside 24 shots to earn his sixth consecutive win in goal.
The victory pushed Buffalo’s streak to seven straight wins, the franchise’s longest since a 10-game run in November 2018, and came against an Atlantic Division rival that entered the night on a four-game win streak of its own. With the two points, the Sabres continued their climb in the tightly packed Eastern Conference playoff race, moving within two points of the Florida Panthers for the final wild-card spot.
Buffalo carried play for long stretches and twice grabbed the lead through the first two periods, only to see Ottawa respond each time. That set up a cautious, low-event third period as both teams focused on limiting mistakes.
The Senators applied late pressure, including a dangerous rebound attempt by Drake Batherson that Lyon somehow stopped while sprawled on his back. Moments later, Buffalo was forced to kill a penalty after Alex Tuch was whistled for hooking with under two minutes remaining. The Sabres’ penalty killers stood tall, capped by a key shot block from Beck Malenstyn in the final seconds of regulation.
In overtime, it didn’t take long. Just 31 seconds in, Byram jumped into space and snapped a shot past Linus Ullmark to seal the win.
Next, the Sabres host the Boston Bruins on Saturday at 7 p.m. as they look to push their win streak to eight.
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Kyle leads sports coverage and hosts the Concrete Jungle podcast. Have a lead or question? Send it to [email protected].