Senators smash Sabres behind five-goal first period

Brady Tkachuk and Boris Katchouk each collected a goal and an assist during Ottawa's five-goal first period on Wednesday, lifting the visiting Senators to a 6-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres.

Ottawa's Drake Batherson joined defensemen Jakob Chychrun and Artem Zub in scoring a goal during the first period. The Senators netted five goals in the opening stanza for the first time since Jan. 8, 2004.

Shane Pinto scored into an empty net and added three assists to send the Senators (31-36-4, 66 points) to their third win in a row and sixth in the past nine games.

Ottawa goalie Joonas Korpisalo made 35 saves to improve to 5-1-0 in his past six appearances.

Buffalo's Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen yielded four goals on nine shots before being replaced by Devon Levi (33 saves).

JJ Peterka and Conor Clifton each scored a goal and defenseman Jacob Bryson added two assists for the Sabres (34-34-5, 73 points), who have lost three of their past four games.

Zub started the offensive onslaught by tipping home a loose puck in the crease at 2:37 of the first period. The goal was Zub's fourth of the season and first since Ottawa's 5-1 win over Buffalo on New Year's Eve.

Katchouk deflected Parker Kelly's blast past Luukkonen at 4:56, his sixth of the campaign. Batherson backhanded the puck past the goalie 65 seconds later to give Ottawa a 3-0 lead. Batherson's goal was his 26th of the season and third in three games.

Chychrun unleashed a blast from the top of the left circle at 8:49 to spell the end of the evening for Luukkonen. Chychrun's goal was his 12th of the season and third in two games.

Tkachuk's deflection in front extended Ottawa's lead to 5-0 with 49 seconds left in the first period. The captain's goal was his team-leading 32nd of the season and fifth in his last seven games.

Peterka scored at 2:54 of the second period, and Clifton followed with a goal at 13:07 of the middle frame.

Pinto iced the victory at 16:43 of the third.