Senators and Sabres Clash at KeyBank Center: A Battle of Strategy and Skill

As the Ottawa Senators prepare to face off against the Buffalo Sabres at KeyBank Center, fans are eagerly anticipating what promises to be an intriguing matchup. The Senators, coming off a series of challenging games, are looking to turn their fortunes around.

In their most recent game against the Calgary Flames, despite a strong start with two goals in the first period and maintaining a 55 percent faceoff win rate, the Senators fell short with a 3-6 loss. Their powerplay capitalized once out of three opportunities but was overshadowed by conceding five even-strength goals. The defensive effort saw them block 16 shots; however, they were on the negative side of a -21 plus-minus rating.

The game prior presented another tough outing for Ottawa as they faced Edmonton Oilers. Despite putting up 31 hits and taking 30 shots on goal, they only managed to find the back of the net once. Their powerplay unit failed to convert any chances from their three opportunities while winning just 38 percent of faceoffs.

Against Seattle Kraken earlier in their schedule, it was again just one goal for Ottawa from an impressive total of 33 shots. They had four powerplay chances but couldn't capitalize while maintaining a solid goaltending performance with a save percentage rounding up to 100 percent.

The upcoming game is crucial for Ottawa as they seek redemption on Buffalo's ice. With recent struggles in converting scoring opportunities into goals and facing challenges at even strength defensively, it's essential that they tighten up their play without sacrificing offensive pressure.

Fans can catch all the action between these two teams on January 12th at KeyBank Center or tune into ESPN+ nationally or MSG-B locally (channel 635-1) for coverage starting from puck drop time onwards.