Sabres can't complete comeback, drop shootout at Montreal

Montreal, Quebec (WGR Sports Radio 550) - The Buffalo Sabres and Montreal Canadiens hooked up for the first time since Game 7 of the Second Round of the Eastern Conference Playoffs last May. It was the Canadiens who got the last laugh, in a shootout, on Tuesday night at Bell Centre.

The two sides traded goals in the opening 20-minutes of play. Olen Zellweger struck first, and got the scoring started a crisp 2:16 into the evening. Zellweger's first goal in a Buffalo Sabres sweater came thanks to a fortuitous bounce, as his point shot deflected in off of a Canadiens defenseman.

---

With just over eight-minutes left in the first period, Montreal appeared to have found its equalizer. Josh Norris, up on Buffalo's offensive-zone blue line, uncorked a no-look pass across the zone that was picked off by Canadiens forward Josh Anderson. Anderson and linemate Chris Kreider sprung the other way, for a 2-on-0 against Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen, but the netminder made his case for an early "Save of the Year" to keep the home side scoreless.

Later in the frame, the Canadiens would eventually solve Luukkonen. The Sabres got in some penalty trouble, and had to kill off a minutes' worth of a 5-on-3 Montreal powerplay. On the man advantage, defenseman Lane Hutson potted his first goal of the season; a clean shot through traffic that tied things at one.

Montreal boasted the only goal-scoring in the middle stanza; one goal early, the second one late.

Doing the early damage was forward Cole Caufield. His third goal of the season, a one-timer, came just 79-seconds into the fresh period. It was assisted by Juraj Slafkosvky and Nick Suzuki.

Then, with 50-seconds left in the second, some poor puck management came back to haunt the Sabres. Unable to exit their own zone, Anderson got even with Luukkonen after the goalie robbed him in the previous frame. The goal upped Montreal's edge to 3-1, as the Sabres found themselves in "need a quick response" kind of territory with the third period imminent. The blue and gold were completely shut down in the second; across the entire 20-minute interval, Buffalo took two shots on goal.

As if on cue, the blue and gold battled back with two quick goals just 1:01 apart. It started with Josh Norris at the 4:24 mark, as he threw the puck towards the net and it bounced in off yet another Canadiens defender.

61-seconds later, Zellweger struck for a second time. Yet another point shot deflected off traffic in front of Canadiens goalie Jacob Fowler.

To this point, all three Sabres goals hit off the same Montreal skater; defenseman Adam Engstrom. Just like that, it was a brand new hockey game at three goals apiece.

That 3-3 score stood pat through the rest of regulation. It was preserved in the final seconds by Luukkonen, who made a crucial, sprawling save to ensure overtime in Quebec.

The extra frame solved nothing, either, despite the best efforts from the two sides. Montreal had a handful of high-danger chances to boast, while Buffalo's best opportunity came when Josh Doan stripped Hutson of a puck for a chance at the other end. Right at the end of the rush, though, Hutson was able to track down Doan.

As for the shootout, it was not kind for Luukkonen. Montreal took it in the top of the third round, after all three of their skaters scored. It started with Caufield, whose goal was then followed by tallies from forwards Alexandre Texier and Zachary Bolduc. Bolduc's goal was the deal-sealer, as Fowler had already made a save down at the other end on Jack Quinn.

The Canadiens took round one of the season series by this final score of 4-3.

---------------

SCORING RECAP:

First Period:

BUF: 2:16 - Olen Zellweger (1) (Mattias Samuelsson, Beck Malenstyn)
MTL: 14:28 - Lane Hutson (1) PPG (Juraj Slafkovsky, Cole Caufield)

Second Period:

BUF: NONE
MTL: 1:19 - Cole Caufield (3) (Juraj Slafkovsky, Nick Suzuki); 19:10 - Josh Anderson (2) (Lane Hutson, Zachary Bolduc)

Third Period:

BUF: 4:24 - Josh Norris (1) (Dennis Gilbert, Beck Malenstyn); 5:25 - Olen Zellweger (2) (Zach Benson, Mattias Samuelsson)
MTL: NONE

Overtime:

BUF: NONE
MTL: NONE

Shootout:

BUF: Tage Thompson - GOAL; Jack Quinn - NO GOAL
MTL: Cole Caufield - GOAL; Alexandre Texier - GOAL; Zachary Bolduc - GOAL

---------------

STATS OF THE GAME

---------------

Bluestar Home Services Three Stars of the Game

1.) Lane Hutson - MTL
2.) Alexandre Texier - MTL
3.) Olen Zellweger - BUF

---------------

What's Next:

The busy interdivisional week continues when the blue and gold visit the Toronto Maple Leafs on Thursday night, October 15. Puck drop at Scotiabank Arena is set for 7 p.m. ET. Dan Dunleavy and Rob Ray have the call on WGR Sports Radio 550.