About This Afternoon: Habs snap losing skid with offensive explosion in Buffalo

The Montreal Canadiens snapped their six-game losing streak with a 7-5 win over the Buffalo Sabres on Monday afternoon at KeyBank Center.

Nick Suzuki scored twice and reached 300 points in his career. Cole Caufield took the league lead in goals with his 11th and 12th.

Juraj Slafkovsky had three assists, while Kirby Dach and Lane Hutson each had two.

Cayden Primeau was pulled in the third period after allowing five goals on 14 shots. Sam Montembeault shut the door in relief with four saves.

Josh Anderson opened scoring at 4:14 of the first, only to have Tage Thompson respond 28 seconds later.

That was it for Thompson. The big forward took one shift in the second period and his night was over due to a lower-body injury.

Caufield kicked off a five-goal second period with a power-play marker. Once again, Buffalo didn’t waste time getting the equalizer. Dylan Cozens tied it up 2-2 just 19 seconds later.

After Peyton Krebs gave Buffalo their first lead of the afternoon, Nick Suzuki scored twice in the final minute to retake Montreal’s lead. Slafkovsky and Dach assisted on both. Could the new top line sans Caufield finally be jelling? Montreal was up 4-3 after 40 minutes.

The momentum swung back Buffalo’s way early in the third period. Rasmus Dahlin scored on the power play at 1:58, then JJ Peterka gave the Sabres a 5-4 lead less than two minutes later. Primeau’s day was over.

Past the midway point of the third, Hutson showed his patience at the point, finding Emil Heineman in the high slot, who beat new goalie Devon Levi through traffic to tie the game 5-5.

Back on the power play, Caufield scored his second with the man-advantage to give Montreal a 6-5 lead. Christian Dvorak added some wiggle room with an empty netter.

The losing streak is finally over. It wasn’t the prettiest of wins, but it harkened back to the games earlier in coach Martin St. Louis’s tenure where the team was scrappy till the final buzzer. Even after coughing up a few leads, the team never seemed to lose its newfound confidence in the offensive end.

The Mike Matheson-Kaiden Guhle pairing had a rough afternoon. Matheson was minus-2 at one point but climbed back to even, while Guhle ended the night minus-3. Two lefties on the top pairing remains an imperfect solution to the club’s handedness imbalance on the blue line.

Thanks to the liveblog commenters who either played hooky or spent their Remembrance Day afternoon following along. They were treated to a messy win, but a badly needed win all the same. Of course, the commenters wondering how long of a leash Primeau has before Montreal decides to try a hot hand from Laval or hit the waiver wire for a more steady backup.

Primeau has already been used somewhat sparingly this season, and Monday’s performance may have sealed his fate.

3. “Wow what a relief. Wasn’t exactly a goaltenders duo. The difference in the game was nine points for our top line. They led the way, and the rest of the team followed.” — Doug Kirkby

2. “How does Hutson not have a goal yet? The chances he has had this season are crazy.” — James T

1. “Primeau is not an NHL goalie, case closed.” — Ryan Katz