Buffalo Sabres vs Montréal Canadiens — Recap

📰Game Recap

Montréal, Québec — The Montréal Canadiens defeated the Buffalo Sabres 4-3 in a shootout, securing the victory after surrendering a two-goal lead in the third period. Montréal dominated the shot count throughout regulation and overtime, outshooting Buffalo 38-17. The SportsFBI model had correctly leaned toward Montréal winning at 63%.

The Sabres took an early lead at 2:16 of the first period with Olen Zellweger's goal, assisted by Mattias Samuelsson and Beck Malenstyn. Lane Hutson quickly answered for the Canadiens at 14:28, assisted by Juraj Slafkovský and Cole Caufield, tying the game 1-1. Montréal then pulled ahead in the second period as Caufield scored at 1:19, assisted by Slafkovský and Nick Suzuki, followed by Josh Anderson’s goal at 19:10, assisted by Hutson and Zachary Bolduc, establishing a 3-1 lead.

Buffalo mounted a rapid comeback in the third period, beginning with Josh Norris' goal at 4:24, assisted by Dennis Gilbert and Beck Malenstyn. Just over a minute later, Zellweger scored his second goal of the game at 5:25, assisted by Zach Benson and Mattias Samuelsson, leveling the score at 3-3. The game remained tied through overtime, with Montréal ultimately prevailing in the shootout.

Cole Caufield and Lane Hutson each contributed a goal and an assist for the Canadiens, while Juraj Slafkovský added two assists and Josh Anderson scored once. Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen made 20 saves on 23 shots for Buffalo, and Jacob Fowler stopped 10 of 12 shots for Montréal. Montréal's record now stands at 2-2-1, and Buffalo falls to 3-3-0.