Kyle Turris is getting comfortable in Ottawa.
The Senators' set up the first of Erik Condra's two goals that helped the Senators to a 4-1 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Tuesday night.
''I'll take this over the weather in Phoenix any day,'' Turris said.
Turris, acquired from Phoenix on Saturday, forced a turnover in the neutral zone as Condra raced in with the puck. He dropped a pass to Turris, whose shot from the right side was stopped by goalie Ryan Miller. Turris batted the rebound across to Condra, who put the puck into the open net to give Ottawa its second lead.
''I thought Kyle was a real good player for us,'' Senators coach Paul MacLean said. ''He did a good job in the faceoff circle. I thought as the game wore on his game progressed. I thought it was a solid game by his line.''
Erik Karlsson scored the Senators' third goal on a power play at 17:49. Condra netted his second of the game into an empty net at 18:14.
Zack Smith scored his ninth goal of the season in the first, and Craig Anderson made 22 saves for the Senators, who have won three of four to move ahead of the Sabres in the Eastern Conference.
''We knew this was a must-win game for us,'' Ottawa's Jason Spezza said. ''We knew they had some injuries and we did a good job capitalizing.''
Jordan Leopold drew Buffalo even at 1-1 with a power-play goal 13:12 into the second. Miller stopped 35 shots after allowing five goals in 30 minutes in Saturday's 8-3 loss at Pittsburgh.
''I thought the first 40 was a pretty even game,'' Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. ''We knew we couldn't play run and gun with them, but I thought we created some good opportunities, but didn't take advantage of them.''
Marcus Foligno and Derek Whitmore made their NHL debuts for the Sabres. Foligno, 20, faced 24-year-old brother, Nick, an Ottawa left wing. The Foligno brothers, born in Buffalo, are the sons of Mike Foligno, who had 355 goals and 727 points during a 15-year NHL career. He spent 10 seasons with the Sabres from 1981-90.
''It was exciting that's for sure,'' Marcus Foligno said. ''Seeing Nick out there was awesome and I think I lined up against him at least once, which was pretty cool.''
Turris centered a line with Nick Foligno and Condra. Drafted No. 3 overall by Phoenix in 2007, Turris was acquired by Ottawa on Saturday in a trade that sent rookie defenseman David Rundblad to the Coyotes along with a second-round pick in 2012.
Chris Neil took a lead pass from Matt Carkner and flipped the puck past Sabres defenseman Mike Weber at the Buffalo blue line to create a breakaway that led to the Senators' first goal 11:48 in. Miller stuck out his left pad to deny Neil, but Smith put in the rebound.
Sabres center Paul Gaustad sent Ottawa's Jesse Winchester flying headfirst into the boards with a check from behind about 3 minutes into the game.
Winchester lay on the ice and then struggled to his feet. He was wobbly as he tried to skate down the ice to rejoin the play. A trainer met the Senators center near the bench and helped him to the dressing room, but he didn't return. No penalty was called.
NOTES: Mike Foligno, who also played for Detroit, Toronto and Florida, was in attendance along with a group of 30 family and friends. He coached Marcus and Nick with their junior team in Sudbury, Ontario. ... Marcus Foligno was selected by the Sabres in the fourth round of the 2009 draft. He had nine goals and three assists with AHL Rochester. ... Senators C Jason Spezza extended his point streak to six games with an assist on Karlsson's power-play goal. Spezza, last week's NHL first star, has three goals and nine assists during his streak. ... Neil got his 100th assist on Smith's goal.
