Buffalo dominates the overtime period but cannot beat the Senators goalie.
Nick Baptiste put the Sabre up 1-0 in the first period off a faceoff as Derek Grant drew the puck to Cole Schneider, who dropped it in the left circle for Baptiste to blast it past the Senators goalie Mike Condon.
The Senators knotted the count in the second stanza. Neither team was able to score in the third as the game went to overtime.
Buffalo goalie Robin Lehner made 28 saves in regulation. The Sabres outshot the Senators, 8-0, in the overtime and Zemgus Girgensons, Brian Gionta, and Sam Reinhart each hit the post with shots in the overtime period.
Sam Reinhart scored on the Sabres first shot in the shootout, but the Senators beat Lehner with their second and third shots. Gionta took the final shot for Buffalo, but Condon got his stick on an attempted backhander to deflect the puck wide and secure the win for Ottawa.
The Sabres also announced that the team recalled forward Cole Schneider from the Rochester Americans.
Schneider (26, 6-foot-1, 200 lbs.) joined the Sabres for his second career recall and first of the 2016-17 campaign. The Williamsville, N.Y. native currently is tied for the AHL lead with 15 points (7+8) in 10 games this season. Schneider made his NHL debut last season for the Sabres, posting five shots on goal in two games.
Schneider picked up his first NHL point with an assist on the goal by Nick Baptiste.
In a corresponding move, the Sabres have assigned forward Hudson Fasching to Rochester.