Recap
Just like the season opener against Montreal, this game would require more than 60 minutes of play. Max Pacioretty capped the game with a breakaway goal in overtime, giving the Canadiens a 2-1 victory over Buffalo at the Bell Centre on Saturday night.
Pacioretty and the Canadiens benefitted from Nathan Beaulieu’s broken stick in the final moments, but the Sabres had plenty of time to try and beat goaltender Charlie Lindgren, who continued his great play.
“It couldn’t of happened at a worst time, the broken stick. It’s just really unfortunate. We have to use this as motivation to win.” – Beaulieu
Lindgren allowed one goal on 35 shots and improved to 3-1.
Ryan O’Reilly scored Buffalo’s lone goal, finding the puck after a scrum in front of the net for an easy tally, his sixth of the season.
Scoring first hasn’t exactly translated to success, though. The Sabres fell to 3-3-3 when scoring the first goal of the game.
Montreal tied the game early in the third period with Jack Eichel in the penalty box as Andrew Shaw deflected one in.
Chad Johnson made several big stops, including a breakaway save on Alex Galchenyuk just a couple minutes into the first period. Johnson stopped 27 of 29 shots.
“It’s just disappointing. We played a good game. We were right there to get two points. It’s been tough. I want to have great numbers, but I felt good about all of my games. They’ve been really tough games. It’s not good enough and I’m not happy with the numbers.” – Johnson
Playing against his former team, Josh Gorges played with some emotion and dropped the gloves with Jordie Benn in a spirited battle.
Josh Gorges and Jordie Benn had a pretty good fight is something I don’t think I ever thought I’d say… #Habs #Sabres pic.twitter.com/cM2GSt74Hl
— Jared Book (@jaredbook) November 12, 2017
While the Sabres managed to get a point on the road, the frustrations continue to pile up. One night after Robin Lehner’s strong performance, Buffalo couldn’t back Johnson either. It was two strong goaltender appearances that were wasted.
“Our goaltenders have been playing great. We’re not scoring goals. I’m not doing enough to create offense. It’s frustrating. I wish I had the answer for it. I’m just pretty much skating around doing nothing right now.” – Ryan O’Reilly
Over the last eight games, the Sabres have scored one goal in five of those contests.
The Sabres have a couple days off before they visit the Pittsburgh Penguins on Tuesday night. That game is scheduled for a 7 p.m. puck drop.