The Ottawa Senators haven't won back-to-back home games in more than three months. That drought will continue if they can't hold off one of the hottest road teams in the league.
The Buffalo Sabres look for their seventh road victory in their last eight tries Friday night when they visit Ottawa, which has won two straight overall for the first time since late December.
Despite a 1-3-0 homestand, the Sabres (28-25-6) remain in playoff contention in the Eastern Conference with 23 games left in the regular season. They pulled within three points of eighth-place Carolina and ended a three-game skid with a 4-1 victory Wednesday against visiting Atlanta as new owner Terry Pegula took in his first game.
The win came just hours after the team released captain Craig Rivet(notes). Coach Lindy Ruff said Thomas Vanek(notes), Jason Pominville(notes), Paul Gaustad(notes) and Jordan Hecht would now rotate as alternate captains.
Pominville and Gaustad responded with a goal apiece, and defenseman Tyler Myers(notes) scored and added an assist.
Ryan Miller(notes) made a season-high 40 saves for his second straight win after going 0-3-1 with a 3.26 goals-against average in his previous four starts.
"I think he's feeling a lot better about his game," Ruff told the team's official website. "I thought (Wednesday) he was a difference-maker in the game."
Miller was certainly a difference-maker Dec. 4 in Ottawa, when he made 32 saves through overtime in Buffalo's 1-0 shootout win. He is 4-1-0 with a 1.57 GAA in his last five games against the Senators.
Sabres right wing Drew Stafford(notes) has cooled off since scoring nine goals - including two hat tricks - in five games from Feb. 5-15. He has been held without a goal in his last four.
Ottawa, meanwhile, has been hot since trading for goaltender Craig Anderson(notes).
The Senators (20-31-9) beat Florida 5-1 on Wednesday, winning their second straight game for the first time since Dec. 23 and 26. Ottawa hasn't won three in a row since a four-game run Nov. 2-9.
Anderson has stopped 70 of 71 shots - including his first shutout of the season Saturday against Toronto - in two wins since the Senators acquired him from Colorado last Friday for goalie Brian Elliott(notes).
Wednesday's victory also halted Ottawa's 10-game home losing streak. They haven't won two straight at home since Nov. 4 and 9.
"When I came in here the room was great, it was very positive," Anderson said. "Guys didn't get down on themselves or their teammates, from what I could see right when I came in. You would never have known that they were on a losing streak."
Given Buffalo's road success and Ottawa's home struggles, it shouldn't be surprising that the visiting team has won the last eight meetings in this series - four on each club's home ice.
Ottawa winger Bobby Butler(notes) scored twice against the Panthers, giving him five goals in his last five games.
"It feels good to get the back-to-back wins," Butler said. "It's exciting in the locker room and I think the guys had fun."
The Senators stayed busy Thursday as the Feb. 28 trade deadline approaches, dealing veteran Alex Kovalev(notes) to Pittsburgh for a seventh-round draft pick and claiming right wing Marek Svatos(notes) off waivers from Nashville.
Svatos had one goal and two assists in nine games with the Predators this season.
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