BUFFALO, N.Y. — Tage Thompson scored the go-ahead goal 1:23 into the third period, and Lindy Ruff became the NHL’s second coach to win 600 games with one franchise in the Buffalo Sabres’ 3-2 win over the Ottawa Senators on Tuesday night.
Jack Quinn and Jacob Bernard-Docker also scored for Buffalo, and James Reimer stopped 30 shots in winning consecutive starts for the first time this season. Ruff is in the first season of his second stint in Buffalo, and improved his record with the franchise to 600-467-90 with 78 ties.
“I really wasn’t aware of it. But obviously, it feels good,” Ruff said. “Just to get the win tonight, it felt good. … I’ve been fortunate, a lot of good people around me that have helped throughout the years. And [there’s been] unbelievable fan support here in this building.”
Ruff trails only Al Arbor, who won 740 games with the New York Islanders.
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Brady Tkachuk and David Perron scored power-play goals for the Senators. Anton Forsberg stopped 21 shots in an outing the Senators blew two one-goal leads.
“There were two things early that hurt us,” Ruff said. “The penalties hurt us. And we lost almost every faceoff. So, we were chasing the puck. … But it was a game that we needed some good saves, and we got them. And at the same time, our guys played a great third period.”
Meanwhile, the Senators squandered a chance against the Eastern Conference’s last-place team to further secure their bid to end a seven-year playoff drought.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
