The Buffalo Sabres defeated the Ottawa Senators 5-3 on December 3, 2009, at HSBC Arena in Buffalo. Ottawa took an early 2-0 lead with goals from Ryan Shannon (5:15) and Chris Neil (6:05) in the first period, but Buffalo rallied with goals from Thomas Vanek (17:15) and Jason Pominville (19:18, power play) to make it 2-2 after one period. Buffalo goaltender Ryan Miller earned the win, while Patrick Lalime took the loss for Ottawa.