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OTTAWA – Ottawa Senators goaltender Andrew Hammond is 7-0-1 as an NHL starter after a come-from-behind 3-2 win against the Buffalo Sabres at Canadian Tire Centre on Friday.
Hammond made 24 saves and the Senators (29-23-11) continued their push for a berth in the Stanley Cup Playoffs in the Eastern Conference. Ottawa trails the Boston Bruins by three points for the second wild card.
The Senators were 14 points out of a playoff spot on Feb. 10.
The Sabres (19-41-5) had a 2-0 lead after the first period when Philip Varone and Tyler Ennis scored, but the Senators came back when Erik Karlsson, Mika Zibanejad and Mark Stone scored to give Ottawa the win.
Buffalo goaltender Chad Johnson, who was acquired at the Trade Deadline from the New York Islanders, was supposed to make his Sabres debut, but sustained an injury during the morning skate.
Anders Lindback started in his place and was backed up by Andrey Makarov, who was recalled from Rochester of the American Hockey League on Friday. Lindback made 34 saves.
Zibanejad and Stone scored 1:34 apart early in the third period and the Senators fought back to take the lead.
Zibanejad worked a give-and-go with Bobby Ryan in the left wing circle, fighting off a check from Buffalo defenseman Rasmus Ristolainen to score on Ryan's return pass at 1:34 of the third.
Stone gave the Senators the lead with his 16th goal at 3:08 of the third when he jumped into the crease to score on a rebound after a Milan Michalek wraparound.
Hammond has led the charge since taking over after Ottawa's top two goaltenders, Craig Anderson and Robin Lehner, sustained injuries. Anderson has a bruised right hand and Lehner has a concussion.
The Sabres led 2-0 after the first period after Varone scored his third and Ennis scored his team-leading 16th goal.
The Senators cut the Sabres lead in half 26 seconds into the second period when Karlsson scored his 16th goal.
Buffalo had a couple of chances to get control of a puck that was going back and forth along the end boards before it went out to Karlsson at the right point.
Karlsson's wrist shot made it to the edge of the crease where it bounced off the leg of Sabres defenseman Zach Bogosian and into the net to the right of Lindback.
Varone was leading the Rochester in scoring when he was recalled by the Sabres for the third time this season Feb. 26.
He showed some speed on his goal, chasing down a puck that was chipped towards the Ottawa goal and beating both Hammond and Senators defenseman Marc Methot to the puck.
As Hammond attempted to swipe it away, Varone got his stick on the puck first and knocked it into the net at 7:22 of the first period.
Ennis took advantage of a screen to put the puck behind Hammond at 16:32 of the first to give the Sabres a 2-0 lead. Varone had an assist on the play.
It was the 14th time in 65 games the Sabres have led after the first period this season.
Buffalo plays the fourth game of a five-game road trip Saturday at the Washington Capitals.
Ottawa plays the second game of its three-game homestand Sunday against the Calgary Flames.
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