Lindy Ruff's final gift at Christmastime is always big box of uncertainty. The coach comes back from the two-day break wondering what the Buffalo Sabres will look like following their time away from the rink.

If Ruff spent even one minute envisioning a first period like the one they played Saturday,

the coach is quite the masochist.

The Sabres drained HSBC Arena of its holiday spirit in the opening 20 minutes. They left

the fans sitting on their hands for so long, they came up with new ways to belittle the team.

But as has been the case all season, it helps to have the NHL's best goalie. Ryan Miller

allowed the Sabres to stay close through the lopsided early stages and earn a point with a 3-2

shootout loss to the Ottawa Senators.

The sellout crowd filled HSBC Arena with every expectation of seeing a hot start by the home

team. The Senators were without three of their top forwards, injured Jason Spezza, Daniel

Alfredsson and Nick Foligno, and they hadn't been on the ice since Wednesday night. Weather

troubles in Ottawa prohibited them from making it to Buffalo for Saturday's morning skate.

It didn't matter. The Senators dominated the opening 20 minutes and embarrassed the home

team.

Ottawa took the first 18 shots, a fact that did not go unnoticed by the 18,690 in

attendance.

The fans began pleading for the Sabres to shoot. When that didn't work, they mocked them. A

rhythmic chant of "Let's get a shot on goal!" filled the arena with about three minutes left.

Finally, with 2:37 to go, the place went wild with an ear-splitting 18-second ovation.

Steve Montador's wrist shot hit goaltender Pascal Leclaire, giving the crowd the opportunity

for the mock cheer it had been building.

The Sabres failed to heed the derisive "We want two!" and finished the first period in a

19-1 shot hole. They were booed off the ice.

"I heard them. We got what we deserved," Sabres defenseman Toni Lydman said. "It's a bad

first period. It's embarrassing the way we started."

Added forward Thomas Vanek: "They came out definitely better than us and harder than us,

and it showed. When we had the puck, instead of talking to each other and making plays, I

thought we turned it over and gave it right back to them. They just kept coming."

Despite the lethargic start, the Sabres went to the dressing room tied at 0-0 as Miller

bailed out his teammates.

"It could have been 3-0, 4-0 if not for Millsie making highlight saves there," Lydman said.

The Sabres took a shot just 34 seconds into the second period, but it was Ottawa that

connected on the game's first two goals. They came 50 seconds apart.

Alex Kovalev, Ryan Shannon and Montador combined on the opening goal with 5:15 gone in the

second. Kovalev fed a streaking Shannon in front of the net, and the puck bounced off

Montador's shoulder and past Miller.

Chris Neil doubled the lead with 6:05 elapsed after being left alone in front to slip a

rebound through Miller's pads.

Vanek and the appearance of Buffalo's long-lost power play allowed the Sabres to tie the

game before the period was over.

Mike Grier got Vanek the puck after Vanek's first shot was blocked, and the second attempt

soared over Leclaire's shoulder.

The Sabres received a four-on-three power play late in the second, took a timeout, then

took advantage. Jason Pominville's shot from the blue line went through Leclaire's pads,

ending an icy streak. The Sabres were on an 0-for-22 slide with the power play and improved to

just 4 for 51 over 14 games.

The Senators took nine of the 12 shots in the third period, finishing regulation with a

38-18 advantage. The Sabres had a 4-2 edge in overtime.

"After a two-day break, you're guessing what's going on," Ruff said. "I've said this years

past, you hope you get something good. They were a lot better. I thought in the second period

we were the better team. But that's 20 minutes late."

The Sabres flew to St. Louis following the game and face the Blues at 6 tonight. They'll be

without Derek Roy. The center suffered an upper-body injury during the third period and stayed

in Buffalo to be evaluated by doctors this morning. Jesse Winchester buried Roy when he turned

to take a shot with 15:22 left.

"We need to be better in the first period, and that's something we can easily adjust,"

Miller said. "It's just paying attention and engaging. We have a tendency to want to feel out

the game, and that's not what we want to do.

"You can't react to teams and what they want to do all night. We have to dictate play."