The Sabres returned to Montreal on Saturday for their second game at the Bell Centre in the span of just five days. The Habs were still missing Mike Matheson, Ivan Demidov and Samuel Montembeault, but Oliver Kapanen made his first appearance this season as the home team looked to improve on the shootout victory they claimed in the first round.
And one supposes that an overtime victory is better than a shootout one, but it’s not exactly a statement win. The Habs had a 3-1 lead in the second but the problems started with a sloppy shift change on a power play that led to a Buffalo shorthanded goal, and they conceded one more goal in the third. Two points are always nice, but the team is still looking for its first regulation win, eight games into the season.
Habs Lineup
Slafkovsky – Suzuki – Caufield
Kreider – Newhook – Anderson
Bolduc – Danault – Texier
Kapanen – Evans – Dach
Hutson – Dobson
Guhle – Carrier
Xhekaj – Reinbacher
Fowler
Dobes
Game Points
– After a couple of good shifts to start the game, the Habs struggled early with getting the puck on the Buffalo net. They had yet to record a shot on goal when the Sabres struck first, eight minutes in. David Reinbacher, playing in just his third NHL game, made a weak clearing shot on the boards in the neutral zone, which was quickly picked up by Josh Norris. Norris passed to Konsta Helenius and continued driving for the net. Helenius passed it back just as Norris was arriving there, allowing him to flip the puck past Jacob Fowler. Not a great play by Reinbacher in front of the net, but not surprising given his minimal NHL experience. And on the other hand, Norris also handily outskated Josh Anderson to get into position, so there was fault to spread around.
– Two minutes after that, Noah Ostlund was called for hooking Lane Hutson as the shifty defender was rushing into the Buffalo zone. The power play looked as good as ever, and this time it was actually effective, as Zachary Bolduc tipped a Nick Suzuki shot down and past Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen to tie the game at one.
– Cole Caufield gave Habs their first lead another two minutes after. It started off as an innocent-looking dump-in by Alexandre Carrier, but as the puck drifted behind the Sabres’ net, Juraj Slafkovsky used his long reach to poke the puck out and to the stick of Cole Caufield, driving for the net. Caufield made no mistake in clocking yet another Saturday night goal and moving the Habs ahead by a 2-1 score.
– The Habs’ nominal fourth line, Kapanen-Evans-Dach, saw 4:12 of ice time in the first period. The Suzuki line clocked five minutes (plus some power play time), the Newhook line 4:32 and the Danault line 3:18. In comparison, the Beck-Evans-Dach combo saw barely over five minutes of ice time in each of the previous two games, hardly more than the line clocked in one period tonight. Yes, the minutes went down in the third but the return of Kapanen is clearly allowing St-Louis to roll four balanced lines.
– Alexandre Texier potted his first of the season at 7:39 off the second, on what was essentially a set play. Phillip Danault won the faceoff and got the puck back to Alexandre Texier, who passed it to Kaiden Guhle. Guhle took a hard shot, and Texier was open next to Luukkonen and lifted the rebound over the goaltender. A 3-1 lead, and things were looking good for the bleu blanc et rouge.
– Well, at least for about two minutes. With Ostlund in the penalty box and the Habs on the power play, things went pear-shaped in the worst way. Mattias Samuelsson cleared the puck 200 feet from the Buffalo zone, Zach Benson beat Noah Dobson–admittedly late because of a poor shift change–to the loose puck, and Jack Quinn escaped Hutson to lift the puck over Fowler to close the Buffalo deficit to one.
– The Canadiens had their chances on the power play, including a long segment with Buffalo two men down, but they were unable to make anything of it. The Bell Centre crowd was howling “shooooooot” but the Habs only had two shot attempts in the sequence.
– Halfway through the third period, the chickens finally came home to roost for the Canadiens. The Sabres were pressing and repeatedly hemming the Habs in the Montreal zone, and at 10:12 it paid off for the Sabres, as Josh Doan made a pass across the front of the net, and no one was covering Tage Thompson at the opposite post. Can’t blame a rookie for this one, as it was Hutson and Dobson on defence this time.
– The visitors got a late opportunity to take a regulation win as Slafkovsky got his stick into Jiri Kulich’s skates and was sent off. The penalty kill was something to behold this time, though, as the defenders gave up only three shot attempts, and all of them were wide or high. However, one wishes the Habs had fewer fights to stay tied and get into OT.
– The OT was something to behold. As Suzuki won the faceoff, Hutson took the puck and control of the play, breaking in alone into the Sabres’ zone. As Luukkonen made a pad save and then scrambled to stay in position, Hutson took up station behind his net. The Habs’ OT trio was in full control until Hutson lost the puck in neutral ice. Things looked bad as all three Sabres rushed in with only Suzuki back to defend, but Norris’s shot was wide, and Caufield corralled the loose puck in the neutral zone to get into a clear breakaway, shooting for the top corner on Luukkonen’s blocker side, and scoring yet another Saturday night goal to give the Habs both points for the game.
HabsWorld Habs Three Stars
First Star: Cole Caufield (2g, 0a, 5 shots, +2, 18:03 TOI) did what is now expected of him on Saturday nights, scoring his fourth and fifth goals of the season. The first was a Josh Anderson-like effort, while the OT marker was a clear win in his game-long duel with Luukkonen.
Second Star: Alexandre Carrier (0g, 2a, 2 blocks, +2, 22:08 TOI) was a rock on the Canadiens defence corps, playing mostly with Hutson and Guhle, and allowing minimal scoring opportunities to the opposition. The two assists were a bonus on top of the solid defence.
Third Star: Jacob Fowler (26 shots, 23 saves, .885 save %, 0.36 GSAx) was good if not great in goal for the Habs, but at this point in the season I expect Kent Hughes and Martin St-Louis will happily settle for “good” goaltending. Fowler made enough solid stops to keep the Habs in the game, enabling Caufield eventually to score the overtime winner.