The Canadiens won their fourth-straight game for the first time since 2022 with a 4-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night at KeyBank Center
Beyond the winning streak, it was a pivotal moment for the season at-large: if the Canadiens want any chance of re-entering the playoff mix, they need four points in their current home-and-home series against the Eastern Conference cellar-dwelling Buffalo Sabres. They now have two.
Cole Caufield reached a career-high with his 29th goal on the season. Montreal also celebrated a collective plateau: the Canadiens lead the NHL with 11 double-digit goal-scorers.
Jakub Dobes started his first game since Feb. 9 and collected his first win since Jan. 19.
Lane Hutson had two assists, and could easily have had a third. Nick Suzuki extended his point streak to four with a helper.
After a scoreless first period, both teams combined for five goals in the second. Caufield started things off with a one-timer on the power play. He’s the first Hab to score 20 times on the road in fewer than 30 games since Guy Lafleur in 1976-77.
The Sabres responded with two goals in 1:29 to take a 2-1 lead. On the first goal, Jacob Bryson picked Jake Evans’ pocket in the corner and found Alex Tuch in front.
Montreal was caught out of position in their zone yet again, and this time it was Jiri Kulich who was left all alone in scoring position. He beat Dobes with a one-timer to give Buffalo the lead.
The Canadiens picked themselves back up. Josh Anderson completed a slick passing sequence with Lane Hutson and Christian Dvorak for his 10th of the campaign.
Then with 2.6 seconds remaining in the second period, Alex Newhook and Mike Matheson executed the perfect give-and-go to return to the dressing room with a 3-2 advantage.
Late in the third period with the net pulled, Dvorak deferred to Evans with the net empty, and he sealed a 4-2 win for the Habs.
Evans is now a goal and a point away from matching his career-high, but with the trade deadline days away, will his next goal come in a Canadiens sweater?
Like the San Jose game on Thursday, it wasn’t always pretty, but two points are two points at this stage of the season. They also stood up to Buffalo’s demanding physical style: it was 28-27 in the home team’s favour in hits.
Upon completion of the game, the Habs sat three points back of the final wild-card spot in the Eastern Conference. They play the Sabres again on Monday and the Oilers on Thursday before last call for trades.
Did the Kirby Dach season-ending injury change the team’s deadline plans? The Liveblog commenters had plenty to say about the injury-cursed centre. He’s not the long-term solution on the second line, but he’s a big galoot and there’s always room for size on an NHL roster should he find his way back from another devastating knee injury.
3. “Sad news about Dach but I believe we’ve come to the end of the road with him. No way a team can be successful with a number 2 C who misses more games than he’s played.” — Marc Taillefer
2. “For those who think the Dach experiment is over, I disagree. Was listening to Arpon’s podcast yesterday, and they brought up some great points. He’s still on a very cheap contract. Even if he doesn’t work out as our 2nd C, he’d still be very valuable as a 6’5” winger, and his next contract would reflect that. We can’t throw 6’5” wingers away.” — Carin Latzel
1. “This could be one of Hutson’s best games. He’s been a stud out there tonight, at both ends of the ice. Nice assist on the goal that got Montreal back in the game. Nice stretch pass before that that lead to a goal.” — Doug Kirkby