BUFFALO – A high-stakes late-January game in a packed, noisy building. The Sabres have waited for what feels like forever for nights like Saturday.
“We love playing these games,” captain Rasmus Dahlin said after the Sabres’ entertaining 4-2 loss to the Montreal Canadiens ended their five-game win streak. “These are the type of games we want to be in.”
They’re also games the Sabres, who have registered an NHL-best 20-4-1 record since Dec. 9, must win if they want to end their league-record 14-year playoff drought.
Of course, there’s no shame in falling short against the Canadiens or losing a hotly contested game. You get the feeling if the Atlantic Division rivals played 20 times, each team would win 10 games.
The Sabres defeated Montreal twice in an eight-day span earlier in January. The Canadiens won the first meeting in October.
Those recent wins helped the Sabres grab third place in the division. Now, after Saturday’s loss before a bipartisan capacity crowd of 19,070 fans in KeyBank Center, they’ve switched spots with the Canadiens, falling back into the first wild card spot.
In the ultra-competitive Eastern Conference, expect constant movement in the standings and more tight games down the stretch.
On Saturday, like most nights over the last seven weeks, it felt like the Sabres would find a way to triumph. Rookie center Noah Ostlund’s power-play goal 18:56 into the second period put them up 2-1, their first lead of the night.
They had lost just once all season, way back on Nov. 12 in Utah, when leading after two periods.
But the Sabres, whose puck management has helped buoy their recent success, got a little sloppy in the third period.
Cole Caufield tied the game 4:14 and put the Canadiens up for good at 10:13, when he beat goalie Alex Lyon in front after the Sabres couldn’t handle the puck along the wall.
“We’ve been in a lot of tight games,” Sabres coach Lindy Ruff said. “We’ve been in games where we’ve been able to close it. I thought early on in the third we didn’t manage the puck really well, probably was the thing that hurt us in the first five minutes.”
The Sabres nearly tied it a few times, including when center Tage Thompson hit the crossbar during a late power play.
“A matter of inches,” Ruff said of the difference in the game.
Ruff said “that was a really good, competitive game.” The Sabres pumped 38 shots on Canadiens goalie Jakub Dobes.
“They had a few pockets of good shifts there in the third period that got us on our heels a little bit,” he said. “I thought we recovered from that. I thought we had a great push in the second period. But we just didn’t quite make them pay for some of the mistakes.
Lyon, whose team-record 10-game win streak ended, said “you know you’re going to be in a dogfight with” the Canadiens.
“They’re a handful to deal with, but credit to our guys, too,” said Lyon, who made 27 saves. “I thought we played well and we played with a lot of pressure and really handled the second period well, I think, tonight, which was a positive. …
“Things aren’t going to be super easy down the stretch here. We have to get used to that feeling and let it sour and bounce back quickly.”
Defenseman Owen Power scored the Sabres’ other goal, ending a 24-game drought. Juraj Slafkovsky scored the Canadiens’ first goal. Oliver Kapanen’s empty-net goal sealed the game.
Notes: Dahlin on the atmosphere in the rink: “I really, really appreciate the fans that came out, but I don’t want to see that many red in the future.” … Sabres winger Jordan Greenway, who has been battling pain after undergoing two hernia surgeries, skated in the pregame warm-up but was scratched. Ruff said the Sabres had a player who was doubtful for the game. Greenway would’ve played if he couldn’t go. … The Sabres also scratched defenseman Zac Jones (healthy) and goalie Ukko-Pekka Luukkonen (lower body). … Caufield, who also had an assist, has scored 10 goals and 16 points in 18 career games against the Sabres. … New Bills coach Joe Brady watched the game from a suite.
