The Buffalo Sabres opened the 2021-22 season with a convincing 5-1 victory over the Montreal Canadiens on Thursday night at KeyBank Center.
Buffalo used special teams as a catalyst to their success with three power play goals against the Canadiens.
Kyle Okposo opened the scoring with a power play goal less than seven minutes into the game. The first goal of the Sabres' season came on a wrist shot from the slot that beat Sam Montembeault. It came on the seventh shot of the game for the blue and gold.
Jacob Bryson and Colin Miller assisted on the the season's first score. At the time, Buffalo was outshooting Montreal 7-1.
The lead expanded to 2-0 with just under three minutes remaining in the opening stanza thanks to a Colin Miller shot from the point. Zemgus Girgensons tipped the puck in the slot for his first goal of the year.
For Girgensons, it was his first goal since Feb. 26, 2020 after he missed the entire 2020-21 season due to a hamstring injury suffered in training camp.
Buffalo and Montreal each had 10 shots on goal in the opening period. Craig Anderson stopped all 10 Canadiens shots to give the blue and gold a two-goal lead at the intermission.
The Sabres successfully killed off back-to-back penalties early in the middle stanza to preserve their 2-0 lead. Robert Hagg had a pair of blocks, while Anderson stopped all five shots on goal while the team was on the penalty kill.
Montreal's first goal of the night was scored on a broken play to cut Buffalo's lead to 2-1. Defensman Chris Wideman was left alone by the side of the net after Joel Armia's shot was blocked and made its way across the ice.
Victor Olofsson restored Buffalo's two-goal lead with the second power play goal of the game, 3-1. The forward's score came while the team was on a 5-on-4 advantage. Dylan Cozens helped create the chance by causing a turnover in the neutral zone for the blue and gold.
Anders Bjork scored his first goal of the season less than two minutes later to extend the Sabres' lead to 4-1 over Montreal. Bjork's goal came on a second chance opportunity after Girgensons took the initial shot just inside of the offensive zone.
Casey Mittelstadt was injured in the second period and did not return for the final 20 minutes. He initially returned from the locker room after missing several minutes, but left after one more shift on the ice.
Buffalo scored their third power play goal of the night with a score early in the third period. Tage Thompson capitalized on a loose puck at the side of the net and slammed in his first goal of the season to make it 5-1 Buffalo.
The Sabres ended the night with a 36-31 shot advantage over the Canadiens, and it resulted in a resounding opening night win on home ice.
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GAME SUMMARY
Goal Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 6:40 - Kyle Okposo (1) PPG (Jacob Bryson, Colin Miller); 17:35 - Zemgus Girgensons (1) (Colin Miller, Cody Eakin)
MTL: NONE
Second Period:
BUF: 17:05 - Victor Olofsson (1) PPG (Jacob Bryson, Jeff Skinner); 19:04 - Anders Bjork (1) (Zemgus Girgensons, Vinnie Hinostroza)
MTL: 9:33 - Chris Wideman (1) (Joel Armia, Mathieu Perreault)
Third Period:
BUF: 4:29 - Tage Thompson (1) PPG (Jeff Skinner, Victor Olofsson)
MTL: NONE
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Penalty Summary:
First Period:
BUF: 8:27 - Rasmus Dahlin (Interference - 2 min.)
MTL: 5:24 - Cedric Paquette (High Sticking - 2 min.); 18:07 - Chris Wideman (Hooking - 2 min.)
Second Period:
BUF: 2:47 - Henri Jokiharju (Holding - 2 min.); 4:21 - Cody Eakin (Tripping - 2 min.)
MTL: 14:41 - TEAM (Too many men on the ice - 2 min.); 15:54 - Ben Chiarot (Hooking - 2 min.)
Third Period:
BUF: NONE
MTL: 3:25 - Ben Chiarot (Tripping - 2 min.)
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Losi and Gangi Three Stars of the Game:
1.) Kyle Okposo - BUF
2.) Zemgus Girgensons - BUF
3.) Craig Anderson - BUF
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What's next:
The blue and gold remain home and will welcome the Arizona Coyotes for a 1 p.m. ET faceoff on Saturday afternoon. Catch all of the action on the flagship home of the Sabres Radio Network - WGR Sports Radio 550. Pregame coverage with Brian Koziol begins at noon on WGR.
