Montreal, Quebec (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A modest two-game winning streak came to a halt for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday evening.
While visiting the Montreal Canadiens, the Sabres got in trouble and played from behind all game, en route to a 4-2 final score at the Bell Centre.
It was the Canadiens opening the scoring just 8:29 into the first period, as forward Oliver Kapanen put the finishing touches on a successful keep-in. With the Sabres attempting to fly the zone, Montreal kept things onside, got the puck down deep and Kapanen rammed home the puck for a 1-0 advantage.
About seven minutes into the middle stanza, the Sabres evened the score.
Zach Benson located Jiri Kulich, who kept the play alive by kicking the puck back to his stick before tying the game at 1-1.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the third period, where three minutes in, Montreal re-claimed the lead.
Defenseman Noah Dobson jumped down deep into a developing play, skated to the left of Alex Lyon's net, and fed forward Juraj Slafkovsky in front to make it 2-1, Canadiens.
Montreal bucked the trend as nine minutes later, the team seized the first multi-goal lead of the evening. Defenseman Lane Hutson potted goal No. 1 of his campaign, as the Sabres stared down a two-goal deficit with just 8:22 to play.
Just 52 seconds later, Tyson Kozak deposited a pass from Jack Quinn to the side of the Canadiens net, which pulled the Sabres back to within a goal.
That was as close as the Sabres got, though, to tying the game and forcing overtime.
While boasting an extra attacker, a one-time shot from the point by captain Rasmus Dahlin was blocked by Canadiens captain Nick Suzuki. That eventually led to forward Jake Evans taking the puck down to the other end and icing the game with Montreal's fourth goal.
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SCORING RECAP
First Period:
BUF: NONE
MTL: 8:29 - Oliver Kapanen (4) (Ivan Demidov, Alex Newhook)
Second Period:
BUF: 6:51 - Jiri Kulich (2) (Zach Benson)
MTL: NONE
Third Period:
BUF: 12:30 - Tyson Kozak (1) (Jack Quinn, Rasmus Dahlin)
MTL: 2:57 - Juraj Slafkovsky (3) (Noah Dobson, Nick Suzuki); 11:38 - Lane Hutson (1) (Alex Newhook); 19:29 - Jake Evans (1) ENG (Nick Suzuki)
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Blue Star Home Services Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Juraj Slafkovsky - MTL
2.) Jake Evans - MTL
3.) Jakub Dobes - MTL
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What's next:
The Sabres make the trip back to Buffalo to host the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 7:30 p.m. with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.