Montreal, Quebec (WGR Sports Radio 550) - A modest two-game win streak came to a halt for the Buffalo Sabres on Monday evening. Visiting the Montreal Canadiens, the Sabres got in trouble and played from behind all game en route to a 4-2 final score at Bell Centre.
It was the Canadiens who opened the scoring on this night. 8:29 into the first period, 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 a 1-0 Habs advantage.
About seven-minutes into the middle stanza, the blue and gold evened the score. Zach Benson located Jiri Kulich, and Kulich kept the play alive by kicking the puck back to his stick before he tied the game a goal apiece.
The back-and-forth affair continued into the third. 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 blue and gold stared a two-goal deficit in the face with just 8:22 to play.
Tyson Kozak did his part, and capitalized on a strong push from the offense in the ensuing moments. It was only 52-seconds later when Kozak deposited a pass from Jack Quinn, and pulled the Sabres back within a goal.
That was as close as the Sabres would get for the rest of the game, though. While boasting an extra-attacker, Rasmus Dahlin's one-time shot from the point by fellow captain Nick Suzuki for Montreal. Forward Jake Evans took the puck down the other end and iced the game with the Canadiens' fourth goal.
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SCORING SUMMARY
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
What's Next:
The blue and gold make the trip back to Buffalo to host the Detroit Red Wings on Wednesday night, October 22. Puck drop at KeyBank Center is set for 7:30 p.m. EST with Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray on the call.