Captain Nick Suzuki totalled four points in a 4-3 overtime win for the Montreal Canadiens over the Buffalo Sabres at Bell Centre on Monday.
It was a season-high fifth straight win for the Habs. They also completed a home-and-home sweep of the Sabres.
That being said, the Habs made it hard for themselves. They jumped out to a three-goal lead in the first period before the Sabres clawed their way back to send the game to an extra frame.
Lane Hutson added two points to reach 48 on the season. He’s now the fastest Canadiens defenceman to reach 50 career points, doing it in 63 games compared to 66 for Chris Chelios.
After tensions nearly boiled over between the clubs on Saturday, nobody dropped the gloves on Monday. It was still an undisciplined affair with nine combined power plays. Montreal scored twice with the man-advantage and once shorthanded.
The Sabres outshot the Habs 36-20, but Sam Montembeault was solid in goal with 33 saves.
Montreal cruised to an early lead, scoring three times in a four-minute span in the first period.
Cole Caufield opened the scoring with his 30th goal of the season. That’s a career-high. It was a power play goal.
Then Suzuki, the third star of the week league-wide, continued his stellar play with a shorthanded goal.
The third linemate, Juraj Slafkovsky, got in on the fun as well with a power play goal bank pass off Sabres defenceman Connor Clifton. 3-0 Habs.
The momentum reversed in the second. Montreal was lucky to escape the second period still up 3-1. They were outshot 14-6.
It took 18:07 for the Sabres to finally solve Montembeault. Alex Tuch scored his seventh goal in as many games to put the Sabres on the board.
Buffalo continued to press in the third period, while the Habs looked like a shell of their first-period selves. Tage Thompson did his best Patrik Laine impression with an absolute cannon of a one-timer from along the boards that blasted through Montembeault.
Then with 1:01 to play in regulation and the goalie pulled, Buffalo captain Rasmus Dahlin made up for taking three penalties during the game to beat Montembeault with a laser beam to send the game into overtime.
In 3-on-3, the Habs once again came out looking discombobulated, but all it takes is one chance, and with Mike Matheson coming down on a 2-on-1, he elected to shoot and it proved to be the right decision. The Habs pulled a 4-3 victory from the jaws of defeat and cashed in an all-important two points.
When was the last time Habs fans did any scoreboard watching? It happened Monday, with liveblog commenters keeping one eye on the Bell Centre and the other on the Senators vs. Capitals in D.C. That game also went into overtime with the Caps emerging victorious.
That means the Habs are now a single point out of a playoff spot. The Detroit Red Wings currently occupy the final wild card spot in the Eastern Conference with a game in hand.
The Habs may not have won in convincing fashion against the Sabres and Sharks, but they bagged six points in the standings all the same against two lottery-bound clubs. It’s also not surprising that a young team with limited big-game experience in the pros like the Habs would teeter on the way to the finish line like an inconsistent closer in baseball.
The liveblog commenters defied conventional wisdom and using the new poll feature on the liveblog, a majority of them voted the Habs should add a player before this Friday’s trade deadline instead of ship one out. If anything, the club has given management some food for thought with their current five-game win streak coming out of the 4 Nations Face-Off break.
At the very least, the commenters know Suzuki means business and is willing his team back into the playoff conversation. He’s played his best hockey as a Hab since watching Team Canada at the 4 Nations from the comfort of his own home.
3. Not the best 2 points, but count’ em, 1,2,3,4,5, wins in a row. 10 points in the last 5. Still in the mix for this the 3rd year and 6th month on ice of the rebuild. The fact is the Habs have a chance for a wild card and it doesn’t matter what the deniers are saying, they are ONLY 1 point out of a playoff spot as they continue to mature, add NEW prospects through the draft for Laval, adding NEW rookies to the Habs line-up.” — Rick Woods
2. Super glad we got the win, but this team has to pick it up. Three games in a row they haven’t played good. This doesn’t look like their January run at all. One thing they are doing well is finding ways to win. We are still getting two points every game, and the result is all that counts.” — Doug Kirkby
1. “WHEW! They ALMOST blew that game being up 3-0 early and letting Buffalo back in it. What can I say about Nick Suzuki. The guy is playing fantastic hockey right now. Three points tonight, a shorthanded goal and just doing his best to get the Habs into the playoffs. The players want to stay together and see what they can do.” — KeithH MacCausland