It never gets easier. Just because the Buffalo Sabres usually lose to the Ottawa Senators

doesn't mean the sting lessens with each setback.

That's especially true when the blow is as painful as the one delivered Wednesday. This

loss had the coach speaking barely above a whisper and the goaltender sitting alone in blank-

stared silence.

The Sabres, at the mercy of the Senators for years, have lost to their nemesis in a variety

of ways. Add a final-minute defeat to the list. Ottawa captain Daniel Alfredsson scored twice

in the last 60 seconds to ruin Buffalo's third-period comeback and crush the Sabres, 4-2.

The streaking Senators, who won their 10th in a row and eighth straight against Buffalo,

climbed within three points of the division leaders with two extra games played. The Sabres

fell 59.7 seconds short of getting one point with an overtime appearance.

"To be 2-2 and lose at least a point is disappointing, especially against a team like that

in our division," Sabres center Tim Connolly said. "It's in our arena and there's a few

minutes left, we've got to buckle down and at worst go to overtime and go from there."

The Sabres pulled even with 12:16 to play, finally solving Ottawa goaltender Brian Elliott

with two goals in 27 seconds. The sellout crowd of 18,690 in HSBC Arena was excited, and so

were the Sabres.

That's what made the final minute such a downer. Senators defenseman Erik Karlsson wound up

for a slap shot from the point and spotted Alfredsson alone at the left side of the net. The

longtime Sabre killer stopped the hard pass with his skate and easily tapped the puck into an

open cage.

"Everybody was following the puck and didn't see the open guy," Sabres defenseman Andrej

Sekera said. "They made a nice play, and it ended up in our net."

Alfredsson ended any dramatic comeback attempts with an empty-net goal with 22.5 seconds to

go. The Senators improved to 24-6-4 against Buffalo since the lockout.

"The best description is we just found another way to lose a game," said coach Lindy Ruff,

barely audible at the beginning of his news conference.

The Sabres, just 2-5-1 in the past eight games, will try to improve their recent play when

the Carolina Hurricanes come to town Friday night. Maybe by then the shock will have faded for

the Sabres and goalie Ryan Miller, who sat motionless at his stall while his teammates moved

in and out of the dressing room.

"It was a great opportunity for us to get their winning streak to end," Sabres defenseman

Henrik Tallinder said. "The final minute was tough."

Another Buffalo tormentor, Jason Spezza, gave the Senators their 2-0 lead. The center, who

has been as hot as his team with goals in his last seven games, scored with 6:22 left in the

second period and 14:01 to go in the third.

The Sabres answered, needing only 27 seconds to tie the game.

Sekera, inserted on the blue line in place of healthy scratch Steve Montador, put Buffalo

on the scoreboard with 12:43 left. Connolly won a draw in the Ottawa zone, and Sekera skated

to the faceoff dot and unleashed a laser that beat Elliott on the far side.

Connolly stayed on the ice and struck again with 12:16 to go. The center took a shot from

the left faceoff circle — the opposite side from Sekera — and Elliott was again

beaten on the far side.

"Those two goals woke us up a little bit, and we started playing our game," Sekera said.

"But sometimes we didn't play as hard as we should, and it cost us."

The Sabres outshot the Senators, 13-5, in the first period and 38-36 in the game. The final

minute, though, left the lasting impression.

"We put a lot of work in, a lot of energy into that game," Ruff said. "We did a lot of good

things. It's a pretty hard-fought game to end up giving that mistake at the end."