Sabres' Biron makes 23 stops

OTTAWA (AP) -- The Buffalo Sabres had the right plan to frustrate one of the NHL's highest scoring teams.

J.P. Dumont and James Patrick scored 14 seconds apart early in the third and Martin Biron made 23 saves in Buffalo's 2-1 victory over the Ottawa Senators on Monday night.

Dumont scored from the slot 1:52 into the third to break a scoreless tie, and Patrick added his third of the season at 2:06.

"I thought we did some things right that prevented them from really getting going," Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. "I thought our gap was really good and we stayed with it. I thought all lines generated some opportunities, and we caught a break, scored a goal, and got another quick one."

Ottawa defenseman Wade Redden scored for the third straight game, pulling the Senators within one with a power-play goal at 4:10. Ottawa's last eight goals have come with the man advantage, including a team-record five Thursday night against Columbus.

Buffalo ended a three-game winless streak. The Sabres have won just twice in their last seven games (2-2-2-1).

"For some unknown reason we play a lot better against the best teams," Patrick said. "You know they have so much skill on every line that you have to be ready right off the bat."

The Senators, who fell to 0-6 in one-goal games, lost their second in a row. Ottawa is 2-5-2 since earning 11 of 14 points while winning five of its first seven games.

Reporters were briefly kept out of the Senators' dressing room following the game while the players held a meeting.

"I think everybody realizes the urgency there is here," Senators captain Daniel Alfredsson said. "We're not up to our potential and we've got to be better. Every individual has got to step up and, whatever it is, we've got to do a lot of things better to win more games."

Biron came up with a big stop on former teammate Vaclav Varada early in the second, and made a pad save moments later on Daniel Alfredsson's shot from the edge of the crease.

"There were a few big saves," Sabres center Daniel Briere said. "We're not going to kid ourselves, we need good goaltending if we're going to have the chance to win games, especially against a team like Ottawa."

Briere set up Dumont's goal early in the third. Briere moved from behind the net and passed from the right side of the net to Dumont, who beat Senators backup Martin Prusek through the legs for his fourth of the season.

Game notes
Sabres left wing Jochen Hecht, making his season debut after breaking his left arm in a preseason game, also drew an assist on Dumont's goal. ... Sabres D Jay McKee returned to the lineup after being a healthy scratch in two straight games. McKee has no points in 16 games and has gone 108 games since scoring his last goal in Phoenix on Jan. 19, 2002. ... Buffalo placed LW Jason Botterill on waivers to make room for Hecht on its roster. Botterill had no points in 14 games.